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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24711979">The Nightingale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GumbaBunny/pseuds/GumbaBunny'>GumbaBunny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead by Daylight (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, But not on purpose, David is a dick, Game is altered to fit the story better, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jake needs a hug, Jayers, Killer!Jake, M/M, Sad Ending, Slight Meg/Claudette, Slow Burn, The Entity is a dick, dwake - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:08:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>47,026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24711979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GumbaBunny/pseuds/GumbaBunny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Entity is bored of the same old things.</p>
<p>It finds Jake Park and plays a game with its new mouse. When that becomes boring, it adds more mice into his den.</p>
<p>It likes seeing them struggle to survive, but soon it will change the game again, making sure his favorite little mouse suffers the most.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dwight Fairfield/Jake Park, Michael Myers/Jake Park</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. In the Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Jake Park is the first survivor and the Trials aren’t like they normally are.</p>
<p>Altered a bit from real gameplay to fit the story more</p>
<p>This is focused on Jayers and Dwake both, as well as being a more darker tone fic than a happy one.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In the beginning, there was no game. There was nothing but never ending pain and suffering. There was no one else. Just him, the ravens, and the killer. He had ran from home to escape his life, but he would rather live in that hell than this hell. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This hell was the real one. Death was not an escape. Hiding, running, avoiding the killer was all he could do for years. Jake assumed it was years, the moon never changed. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer was one he named the Trapper, since he always placed down traps to find and kill Jake with. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was nothing but constant fear. Nothing else but to try to live, because if you died, you would feel pain like nothing else. He had given up trying to talk to the killer. Jake didn’t care anymore, though. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He couldn’t be bothered to keep running. What was the point? Wherever the Entity, that black demonic bitch who trapped him here, put him, he would just sit down until the killer found him and killed him again. This repeated 5 times before the Entity took a hint. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was bored. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wished it would allow him to finally give him a real death. What it did was a million times worse. It sucked up another poor soul to suffer. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sighed and got up for the first time in maybe 6 days, and looked around. He didn’t know it yet, but there was another survivor, and another killer. He sensed something had changed though. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This place never changed, he had been here long enough to know that. Something caught his eye in the dark woods- something white. Like a snowhare in a mudpile, it stuck out. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This wasn’t a trap he knew of any kind. Curiosity couldn’t kill this cat. He walked up to it, and his heart dropped. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was another person in this hell, and it was because of Jake that they were suffering. He should have just kept running to keep that thing happy, because it was his fault this person was in here now. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man screamed when he saw Jake and backed away. “Where- where are we?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hell.” Jake quickly grabbed his hand. “You made too much noise. It will be here soon.” He pulled the man up and quickly ran in a random direction. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Directions don’t matter here. He could run left or right, and it was just up to the Entity to give him luck if he headed a safe path. The man followed behind, terrified out of his mind. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t blame him. He had been, too. Jake yanked him behind a tree and stood still, listening for the heavy footsteps. Nothing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“W-who are you? What do you m-mean hell?” The man whispered. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake flicked his eyes to him. He looked in his mid or upper twenties, wearing glasses and a shirt with a tie. “What year is it?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What? You don’t- it’s 2006.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Holy shit. Fucking 2 years? </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Can you please t-tell me what’s happening? I-i want to go back to the city.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We are stuck in a never ending forest with a killer. Even if you die, you come back.” Jake felt awful. This was his fault. Damnit. His heartbeat picked up. “Fuck. Alright. Run. Don’t look back. Keep running and hiding- avoid the traps!” He heard a stick cracking and pushed the man hard towards the right and ran left, glancing behind to see if he ran. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did. The killer chased Jake, though, but to his horror it was a new one. No Trapper. Fuck. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck you, Entity!” He hissed. This one was fast, and rang an annoying bell. It killed him in an instant.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up on the forest floor and sat up. He could only hope the man didn’t die, or escaped. Maybe it was a threat to Jake? That if he didn’t stop trying more would join? It was sure a very good support to keep Jake going. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">To his displeasure, he saw the man poke out of a bush. “Oh my god! I-i saw- I saw it kill you!” He was shaking like a leaf and looked awful. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Did he look similar?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It was nice enough to let me die fast.” Jake got up and sighed. Maybe he could make a friend in this hell. He just had to keep that fucking demon pleased. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What, uhm.. your name..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“L-last?” Dwight asked. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Does that matter?” Jake growled. In this world, nothing but surviving mattered. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in almost 3 years, having hid in the woods. It was where that thing found him. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m Dwight Fairfield..” He said softly. “The moon never.. it never changes.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Theres not much to learn about this place.” Jake wanted to tell him how long he had been in here, but he knew it would make the man have a panic attack. He seemed to be the type to panic like that. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We w-will get through this together.” Dwight said, trying to be positive. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.... yeah.” Jake wished. His heartbeat picked up again, and he knew it was the Trapper. “C’mon.” Jake quickly darted off, away from the killer, he hoped. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity had been painstakingly bored. Before he thought of this idea to trap a human and killer, he had killed many, many humans before, those stupid little things. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It had thought of a game of cat and mouse, where the mouse could always come back, and the cat always wanted to kill. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It found a very easy target, and one that already knew how to survive. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But, it didn’t guess that mouse would give up and just accept death over and over without a fight. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">How... boring. It had found another easy target, lost in the woods and scared, before grabbing a very murderous human that it could smell from miles away. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">One of its favorite things was to alter the appearance to make them even more terrifying. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was a good idea, as now he had 2 mice, and 2 cats. Much more entertaining. He saw the mouses desperately working together, trying to survive as long as they could. The longest they got was 3 days with both of them. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Its cats didn’t work together, and occasionally fought, but they were fine. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It got bored again. Nothing changed. Sometimes the two mice would work separately, or together. Other than that, nothing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It decided the only way to rid its boredom was to find more. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And it worked. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He found two more cats, and two mice in a few days. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He would have to change the rules of his realm, though, first. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake quickly darted through trees, avoiding what they now called The Wraith. Dwight and Jake had made up signals to be able to talk to one another without alerting the killers. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw something carved into a tree; it was a spiral. That meant Dwight went to one of their three sleeping places. Jake knew where the safest places to sleep were. While they didn’t need it, they grew mentally exhausted and needed a break. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake hid in a bush and watched the Wraith completely miss him and run passed. He stayed there for a few minutes before darting back the way he ran and following the small markings on the trees back to one of their sleeping spots. It had taken a few weeks to set all these up, and using sticks to mark the trees, but it worked and the Entity allowed it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They learned many things did not work. Attacking the killers was a no go. Escaping was a no go, though Dwight was always optimistic. Jake spent every day trying to keep the Entity happy, mentally begging the thing doesn’t grab more innocent people. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He blamed himself for Dwight. Every time the man died, he felt guilty. Jake couldn’t imagine what would happen if a third person showed up. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The rare times they had a few hours to relax, Dwight would quietly talk to him about life outside the hell. It hadn’t changed at all, though he didn’t expect much. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He never had friends. The “friends” he had in his life before just cared about him because of his wealth. Jake allowed himself to be friends with Dwight, for many reasons. He was a genuinely nice guy, he cared about Jake, he never pushed for anything unless he was seriously worried, and he didn’t care about him because he was rich. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake could trust him. Plus, they only had one another. Dwight was currently asleep, both men hiding in a bush while Jake kept look out. He wondered if Dwight would hate him if he knew it was his fault he was in here. If he had just not given up, Dwight would of had a normal life as a manager at this PizzaWhat! place, and not in this hell. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hated that he cared about him, though. He would sacrifice himself over and over for Dwight. Dwight tried to do the same. The killers found it funny they tried to die for one another. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before Dwight, his only friends were the ravens. He would pet them, and they would not make a noise in return to give away his location. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Until Dwight. They still were friends, but Dwight could never befriend the ravens. He looked up at the sky and hoped the Entity could hear him. “Let Dwight go.. I’ll suffer for eternity, just only if it’s me. Don’t bring anymore people in here.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Silence was all that was heard. No wildlife, wind, nothing, only Dwight’s silent breathing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and looked at his gloved hands. He clenched them and sighed. Things couldn’t get worse, right? They could, and he knew it, but being negative was not going to help. He heard a faint heartbeat and knew their time was up. He shook Dwight, who instantly woke up, ready to run. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were used to this. Jake handed him his glasses and signaled to him they should split up. They rarely used words to tell the other plans anymore. Dwight took off one way, drawing one of the killers towards him. Jake darted the other, glancing back to see the Trapper was chasing Dwight. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake rounded a corner and slammed right into a new person, who hissed in pain. His first thought was ‘god damnit another?’</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck.” He did not want to have to explain all of this again. The woman looked up in shock and was shaking. Jake sighed. “I’m- I’m lost in the woods.” “No. We are in hell.” He snapped back, looking around. “Being hunted.” “Wait- wha-“</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No time to explain. Run.” He heard the heartbeat. The Wraith was nearby. No way in hell was he letting this woman die this fast. Jake grabbed her wrist and took off. He was used to people being in shock, trying to process everything. Shit. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bell rang. Ding dong. Jake shoved the woman to the side as the Wraith stabbed him in the chest. “Fuck. Find Dwight-“ Jake coughed up blood. “Run!” He saw the woman in shock and horror, but ran, not looking back. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake closed his eyes, and opened them to forest again. He guessed how long he was out for. Jake never knew before Dwight, but it was roughly 1-3 days each time. He got up slowly and looked around, looking for a sign from Dwight. They always spawned in one of 6 places, and 2 days was more than enough to place markers to where they were. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw a zig zag- second sleeping area. Jake quickly but quietly darted that way, not seeing a killer. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With this going on, he could only assume there was now a third killer. Jake appeared in the small patch of trees to see Dwight and the woman there. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey. How long?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Almost 2 days.” Dwight replied. The woman looked absolutely shocked to see him. “How much did you explain?” “As much as I could.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded and sat beside them. “You’re.. Jake..?” He nodded, not used to social interaction still. “I’m Meg. Thank you for saving me..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake shrugged, looking away. Another person was here. Fuck. This was awful. How many more would join? It would be his fault. “Nice to meet you Meg. Sorry we met.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Because we would only meet in hell.” Jake stared up at the sky. “I’m going to punch that motherfucker when I see him.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“W-who?” Meg was just a bunch of questions. Jake was tired. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Entity.” Dwight replied. “Only Jake has seen him.. I haven’t. It’s a big black demon spider thing. Every time we break one of its rules, these claw things come out. Its terrifying.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meg swallowed. “I don’t.. want to see it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake rubbed his face. How could he stop this? There had to be a way.. some way to satisfy the thing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight, there’s probably another killer.” The man nodded. “We haven’t seen it yet..” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “.. Dwight there may be more people coming.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. I know. I hope not.. I don’t want more stuck in here.” Dwight was biting on whatever nubs he had. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got up, unable to sit. “I’m going. You can teach Meg, right?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight knew Jake had a social limit, and Jake left occasionally, roughly once a week. He and Meg had talked about what time she came from, Jake, the world, some basic signals, the signatures, to the killers. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He isn’t mean. He has been in here longer than me.. I don’t know how long but he asked for the year and seemed surprised. I think he has been in here years.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alone??” Meg asked, shocked. Dwight nodded. “Until us..” He looked to where Jake left, and sighed. He cared about Jake a lot. Dwight never had friends before this, not even at work. He lived in his apartment alone with his cats. Dwight just hoped they were fine. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had been his first real friend who liked him for him, and protected him more often than not. He hoped the three of them could be good friends, too. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The very next day, Jake found Claudette stuck in a bear trap. He was absolutely shocked. People were coming into this hell faster than he could learn their name. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He learned how to break bear traps from being stuck with The Trapper for almost three years. He quickly got the trap off. “Don’t ask questions.” He could not deal with this. “We are in hell, and there are four killers after us. Stick by me.” Jake grabbed her wrist and helped her up, letting her lean her weight on him. She seemed a lot quieter than the other two when they were panicking, not asking questions. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He glanced at the trees and figured Dwight went to their first sleeping spot, luckily it was nearby. He helped Claudette into their slight safe spot and helped her down. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had a twisting feeling in his gut, that the world he knew it was changing drastically. It sent chills down his skin. Dwight and Meg saw the new person and ran over, helping Jake set her down. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt sick. He had not felt sick in years. He couldn’t control it, and blacked out. He woke up slowly, his vision blurry. The first thing he noticed was warmth, and a campfire. He jolted up and backed away, looking around. Dwight, Meg, and the new person were asleep. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was about to puke again when the fire turned black, and claws came out. “Fuck off.” Jake growled at the Entity. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Oh</strong>?” It purred, a sickening noise to his ears. It came from inside of his head. “I just want you to relay information, little mouse, to the other mice.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grit his teeth. “I will do anything. Let me do this alone.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>It’s far too late for that. I’ve found greater enjoyment with multiple mice. You will now be playing a game, with one killer. That is all</strong>.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Wow. Such help from a fucking demon.’ </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck off.” Jake growled at it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Interesting</strong>.” It purred before vanishing, the fire returning to normal. Jake did not fee safe here. The fire was bright. It caused smoke. It was just sua beacon to find them. However, were they really only going to deal with the killers in a game now? This was almost like a blessing for this hell. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked around, and felt no fear like in the forest earlier. Jake got up and checked on the new person’s leg, but it was fully healed. Great. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He went over to Dwight and shook him, to no avail. Damnit. He sat down and just decided to enjoy the fire, since he hadn’t felt one in years. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A few hours passed, and he was still on edge. They only got a few hours to be safe before a Killer found them. Dwight finally woke up. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh?” He looked around. “Where are we?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think in a safe place. The bastard talked to me. Told me we will be sent to games to all deal with one killer at a time.” Jake said into the fire. Dwight was quiet. “.. ah.” He moved beside Jake and hugged his legs. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What should we do?” Dwight asked. Jake shrugged and closed his eyes. “We play its game and keep it happy.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We cant keep it happy!” Dwight protested. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake tensed up. “Yes. We do. Last time I upset it...” Jake clenched his fists. ‘Last time you appeared.. to suffer in this hell with me. Who knows what will happen if we upset it again.’</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight didn’t push it. He stared at Jake and knew something really bothered him. “Sorry. I.. okay. I don’t know what happened but upsetting it clearly isn’t going to be the answer..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake crossed his legs and looked at Dwight. “It’s..” He inhaled. “Nevermind.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You can tell me anything, Jake.” Dwight gave him a small smile. “We are friends.” A pause. “Best friends?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake gave him a blank stare before slowly agreeing. “Best friends. I’ll tell you.. just not right now.” Dwight nodded, and Meg woke up. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Mnn.. my head!” She groaned. Claudette woke up, but before they could explain anything, a mist curled around them. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stumbled into a new area, coughing. He looked around, trying to gain his bearings. Jake instantly knew. This was The Trappers domain. He could sense it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had to find Dwight, but there was a problem. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt different. He felt like he had specific abilities. Jake realized he was holding something and looked down. A.. tool box? The hell?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard a noise and quickly looked around the map. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake spotted hooks and generators, then a door. ‘Do we have to fix those fucking things? They look old as fuck..’ Jake walked over to one and began to attempt to fix the old thing, wires and ropes all broken with different tabs. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jesus. Did he have to learn how to fix all of this? He grabbed some wires and began to guess at how to fix it, for it to promptly blow up in his face. Oh shit. He heard his heartbeat growing and ran out of there as fast as he could. The Trapper spotted him. He saw a building and darted into it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake quickly learned he could avoid attacks by dodging with pallets and jumping through windows or hiding in lockers. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He also quickly learned how they were going to please the Entity. Jake rounded a corner with Trapper right on him, to see Dwight hiding and shaking, terrified out of his mind. Jake had to backtrack and run another direction to not lure the killer to Dwight, but it was too late. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A cleaver plunged deep inside him, and Jake fell. It picked him up and threw him onto a hook. Jake had never felt such pain before, and screamed. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt limp and useless, all of his energy was being drained. His vision was blurry, and he nearly coughed up blood when he found himself on the ground suddenly. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had saved him. He limped around to a safer spot and put a hand on his shoulder. This was so much worse than before. Dwight was looking at him worried. “Can .. can you go on?” Jake nodded and coughed. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I-i feel- uhm..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“D..different?” Jake sputtered out. He noticed his pain tolerance had spiked up, and the pain was already at bearable levels. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes. Like, I-i could sense you.. and where you were. I can slightly sense everyone else..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grit his teeth and bared the pain, standing up. “We have to.. fix the damn generator to open the door.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I saw multiple ones.. it may take more than one.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Damnit.” He groaned. “Lets work together on the nearest one.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded and walked with Jake towards the closest one, beginning to work on it at a steady pace. They managed to figure out some things with it, but mainly got lucky. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They found Claudette and Meg later and quickly discussed what they learned. Jake learned her name and memorized it, knowing he’d forget it among this chaos. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Claudette had healed him before The Trapper appeared, making them all scatter. It went after Dwight. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sucked his breath and ran after the Killer to distract it from Dwight to no use. He slipped ahead, guessing where Dwight was going. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He found Dwight had been slashed at and was moving slower. Right when The Trapper went to attack, Jake shoved Dwight out of the way and took the hit. He couldn’t see through the pain, but knew he was about to be put on that awful hook. He couldn’t let Dwight feel this. He couldn’t hold back his scream when he was shoved onto it again, but this time he died on it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was crying. Jake had just sacrificed himself AGAIN for him. He took this chance to work on a generator, not letting Jake’s life go in vain. He was going to get them all out of here. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">By some miracle, they got enough generators to work. Dwight chose one door, while Meg and Claudette chose the other. The Trapper was smiling at him from one of the door ways, itching to kill him. Dwight charged at him, surprising the killer. He was aiming for the door, and slipped by, just narrowly missing the cleaver. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He escaped. Holy shit. He could feel Meg and Claudette safe too. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was dead. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight walked until he saw forest, and walked into that. He found himself back at camp. No Jake. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Did.. he doe for real? Was it still a few days? Meg and Claudette appeared. “Wheres.. Jake?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He.. he uhm, sacrificed himself for me...” Dwight responded lowly. “Those hooks.. they really hurt. I’ve never heard Jake scream in pain..”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was sitting on a log with his palms on his forehead. God, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. This was different. This was so much more different. Jake had died, sacrificing himself TO The Entity. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That was what the hooks were for. To feed off of them better, or something. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake’s fine.” Meg said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know how long you two were, but I know you two are real close. You should know he’s fine!” Dwight swallowed thickly and wiped his glasses off on his shirt. “Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.” He said quietly. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was the beginning of their hell, together. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was a non stop process. There was a trial a day, and they all gained a 6th sense as to when they would be going. Over the course of a year, nothing changed. They learned each Killer, their perks, abilities, the generators, maps, everything. Dwight had become their leader, and helped them stay together and keep them focused. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They learned they each had their own abilities and would use them to the max. It still took 1-3 days for them to return from the ‘dead’. Those trials always sucked. If one or two people made it out, a trial would not happen until another returned. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They always woke up in the forest. No matter what direction they chose, they found the camp fire. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake and Dwight had taken time to walk in random directions, and found the campfire every time, even if they left in a random direction. It was a never ending loop. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At least the killers were not in this loop. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They all grew close, since there was not anything else to do but bond. Jake didn’t talk much still, and still had a social meter. He hated dealing with people too long, even if he cared about them. He was a born and raised loner, and found himself walking in the woods a lot. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was also how he found the new survivors, years later. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">First, it was Quentin and he came with The Nightmare. He was only a teen and always tired. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where am I..? I wasn’t- I was at my house..” The teen said quietly, scared out of his mind but still looking tired. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We are in hell.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Quentin did not take that well. Jake took him to the camp fire, and they all looked up in shock. Claudette talked to him first and got him in a better state of mind. She was kind of the “mom” of their group. Meg was always energetic, and Dwight kept them focused. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt out of place. He didn’t know what he did for the group. They taught Quentin everything they knew, but the teen held this grudge against Jake that he wouldn’t understand until later why. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then Jake met David, and honestly he wished he hadn’t. The man was burly and always wanted to fight. Jake didn’t find him, David found them. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where am i?” He had asked, annoyed and ready to fight them if they pulled out a knife or gun. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hell.” Jake replied. “We are in a neverending hell.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David did not take it well either. He hated Jake, and Jake understood why a few months later. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was working on a generator when David appeared and began to work on it as well. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake decided to ask, since the silence was unbearable. “Why do you hate me?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David looked up, annoyed. “Because it’s your fault I am in this place.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was frozen. The fuck? “What? I didn’t fucking trap you here!” He stopped working on the generator. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Claudette came up from behind them, having heard this. “It isn’t Jake’s fault- it’s no one’s!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In his mind, it clicked. He remembered when he was first brought into this world. The grief, anger, all of it. He had no where to direct it. Quentin and David were directing their anger at Jake, and blaming him since he was something physical they could blame. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now that he understood this, he didn’t mind it. He knew how it started, though. When he told them they were in hell. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake thought back to Meg and Claudette. Meg seemed unsure of Jake, and didn’t talk to him much. He didn’t pay attention with Claudette, but she was never nice to him until a few months ago. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t want Dwight, or the others to have this anger directed at them if anyone else appeared, so Jake mentally appointed himself to always be the person that introduced them, so that person would use Jake as their physical being to be angry at until they came to terms with it. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And then the generator blew up in his face. David left quickly, Jake got up and sighed. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He regretted every day that he stopped running. David was right, though. He was the cause of all of this. Despite this, a small part of him was happy he wasn’t alone anymore. In a way, he still only had Dwight. None of the others had tried to make an effort to really befriend him. They talked occasionally, but they were just not friends. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He could only assume it was due to himself. Jake guessed he was an asshole. Why did Dwight stay his friend then?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight seemed to notice he was in deep thought and sat beside him on the fallen log. “You ok?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked at him, his hands holding up his head by his chin as he rested his elbows on his knees. “Yes.” He lied. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He could tell Dwight wanted to ask and push the issue, but didn’t. “You can still talk to me..” Jake remembered he had not told Dwight what he asked before, a year ago. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Remind me to tell you.. when everyone else is in a trial and we are alone.” Jake said. There were always 4 people in a trial, and two stayed behind. Dwight nodded and smiled softly at him before going back to the group. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Claudette and Meg were sitting beside one another. David and Quentin were on another log. Dwight was in the middle log alone. They were talking about something but Jake just couldn’t care enough to listen. He got up and walked into the forest, counting his steps. Jake knew the farthest point away from the camp. It was 1,486 steps away. They had a huge area to wander around, which Jake was thankful for. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat down and rested his head on his knees. This was hell.. there could be no happiness in hell. It was just false hope. Jake knew this and understood. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For the first time in many years, he cried, alone in the forest of hell, where his only companions probably didn’t notice he was gone, and the only thing he could look forward to was a trial where he would either struggle to live, or die and wake up back here just to repeat it again and again for years. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t know what was worse, his life where he was alone in this hell, or this. The pain was worse here, knowing he had people he was forced to interact with, but could never be friends with. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He already knew they would never be friends. Dwight would probably distance himself, too. Damnit. He had to tell Dwight.. Jake rubbed his face. He had to tell Dwight. If he didn’t, his friend would grow worried, but if he did, he would most likely lose Dwight as a friend. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt his chest hurt. This.. this was so much worse. Despite being surrounded by people, he felt more alone now than when he was just with the Trapper. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was pissed when he felt the Entity feeding off of his despair. “Oh, FUCK OFF!” He kicked the ground, hoping it hurt the Entity. Why him?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. He would not think that again. It was him so others wouldn’t suffer, he learned that the first time when he gave up. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake inhaled slowly and calmed down. He could do this. The Entity seemed to have a hard on for making Jake suffer, so if The Entity got bored of him, he would move onto another survivor. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He would suck it up so the others wouldn’t suffer. It was what he could do, since it was his fault for bringing them in here anyway. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity knew Jake was waiting to be alone with Dwight, and made that happen soon. It only took 3 trials. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was staring at him. Jake looked at him, sighing. “I’ll tell you now.” He looked into the never ending camp fire. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I was here with Trapper, alone, for what i think was two and a half years.” Dwight’s eyebrows shot up in shock. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I learned that me and Trapper were the only source of entertainment for the Entity..” Jake really did not want to continue. He looked at Dwight, staring it his face before he knew Dwight would never forgive him. Why did his heart hurt?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A few days before you appeared... I gave up. I didn’t run.. I didn’t do anything.” He swallowed. “It’s my fault you are here. The Entity got bored of me and found you and brought you here, because I got boring. Because I stopped playing its game.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was quiet and gripped the log. He could see the gears turning in his head as everything slowly seemed to make sense. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So.. all of us..?” Dwight managed to get out. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s.. it’s because of me.” ‘I wish I could go back to that day.. and kick myself in the ass and keep running.’</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwightlooked at the fire. Jake knew whatever friendship they had was shattered. He also felt the Entity just sucking up all of his feelings. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got up and left. Dwight said nothing as he did. He wondered if Dwight would tell the others. How would this affect him in the trials? </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Even if everyone hated him, he couldn’t hate them back. Jake blamed himself. He promised himself he would never make another friend. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The pain he was feeling from losing Dwight hurt worse than the hook ever could. How long were they surviving together? It had to be upwards to a year. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He counted the steps and sat down again. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Do you see</strong>?” The rumbly voice came from no where. Jake wondered if the Entity talked to the others like this. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“See what?” He was too mentally tired to care. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Your pain is delicious to me. It’s funny how you keep sacrificing yourself for others who will never like you</strong>.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake glared at the claws coming from the tree in front of him. He was not scared of them. “I will gladly keep doing it if it keeps you away from hurting them.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Oh</strong>?” It purred from inside his head. “<strong>Why do you do this? Wouldn’t you like to have friends</strong>?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Making a promise with this thing, or it seeming to be nice was bad. “No.” Jake crossed his arms. “Because if you’re telling me this it means you want more pain in the end. I’ll fucking show you. I’ll be friends with them.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen</strong>.” It snickered. “<strong>You are my favorite mouse</strong>.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t you fucking even THINK about going after anyone else.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>As long as you are feeding me, I won’t, my mouse</strong>.” The Entity hissed happily, it’s claws vanishing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and leaned his head against the tree. “Fuck.” He closed his eyes. So, basically, as long as he never felt happiness, everyone else could feel happy in this hell. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">... he would do it. For them. Even if they hated him. Even if he never had a friend or felt happiness again. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked back to the camp fire to see the five laughing about something. He had to push his feelings down. Jake sat down, unnoticed by the others. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight looked at him, though, and his smile vanished. Jake stared at him before looking down. When he glanced back at him, he was talking to Quentin about something. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake couldn’t ignore the hole in his chest he felt. His team only spoke to him when they needed to, and Jake hardly talked even then. He made sure never to get used to the feeling of being alone, so the Entity would always feed off of him, or whatever it did. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight avoided him at all times, but he very slowly began to talk to him again around year three. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was somewhat nervous. If he made friends and felt happiness again, would the Entity get bored and leave him? He couldn’t risk it. Jake just never spoke to Dwight. He never stopped the conversations, but never continued them. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It would be another three years before anyone else joined, and Jake had been alone that entire time. He didn’t expect anyone to care about him as long as he lived, but that would change in a few days. He just didn’t know it yet. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Shape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake needs to keep The Entity entertained, and will do anything for that to happen.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was sitting on the log, Quentin across from him as everyone else was in a trail that should be done soon. He sat up when he felt a presence in the woods, and looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He got up and walked into the loop, counting his steps as he did. He stopped at 406 when he heard something walking around. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was a new person. He was sure of it. “Hello?” Jake called out. Nothing answered him. He walked deeper, subconsciously still counting his steps while looking around. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Something was watching him, and he hated it. “Come out.” If no one was there, he wouldn’t be seen as crazy. However, if this was a new person, they were cautious. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake spun around and pulled his arms up in a defensive way as he heard someone rush at him. Jake kicked them off hard and pinned them down within a moment, however the person- a woman- was strong and yanked him off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“God damnit- calm down!” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where am I!?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake mentally sighed. Another person to hate him. “Hell.” He explained for the first time in years. “Never ending hell.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It is here, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What? Your killer?” She seemed to be on alert even before Jake saw her. What was her life like to be like this?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How did you know?” She snapped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Get offa me and I’ll explain on the way back to the camp fire.” Jake huffed back. She agreed and got off of him. Jake turned in a random direction and mentally counted the steps. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This place is hell. We can not die.” He expected her to ask questions, but she just stared ahead. “We go into trials and survive against killers by fixing the generators, or finding the key for the hatch.” He explained to her. “We are all stuck in here, but we have one another.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wanted to laugh at his own words. When did he get so sappy? It was probably just because he hadn’t talked to anyone in years. It had to be that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What year is it?” Jake asked her. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“When I got in here? 2013.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fucking nine years in this hell. Two and a half alone, one with Dwight, two with Dwight, Meg, and Claudette, and three and a half alone with the group. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why do you ask?” She looked at him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and looked up at the moon. “For as long as I’ve been here, I’ve never seen that moon change.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He forgot what sunlight felt like. Or looked like. Would it be weird to ask her?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m Jake.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The woman nodded. “Laurie.” No last name. Nice. He guessed about 230 more steps before they got there. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’ll like the group. They are really amazing.” Jake decided to keep up a conversation while he could, at least before she hated him like the others. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh.. I was thinking about leaving.” Jake laughed. He couldn’t help it. “If you find a way, tell me.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“..alright.” She sighed. “What’s this ‘group’?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well there’s Dwight, he is the nerd. We see him as a leader though, he’s really good at it.” Jake began. He still liked Dwight, even though it’s been so long since they held a good conversation. “Meg is the blond haired one, she’s really energetic. Claudette is the mother of the group, kind of. She heals us a lot and keeps us in line. Mainly David. Also, try not to kill David.” He could tell she was a fighter and would not put up with anything. “Quentin is the youngest and always tired. He’s very sweet though.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She just nodded, absorbing all of this information in. Jake counted down the steps from 50. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No killers can get us here. Just in trials.” This seemed to ease her a bit. He saw the light up ahead and stepped over a bush. No one looked up at him since he left and came often. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie stood a bit back, nervous. Jake understood, thought. He had just spouted so much random information at her with no proof, like how they couldn’t die for real and such. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake just sat on his log and glanced at her before shrugging, telling her ‘if you’re comfortable out there, stay there.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It only took a few minutes for her to walk into the light. Everyone looked up and gasped. Claudette was first. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh my god! You’re so young!” She said. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie seemed confused at this. “What? How old do i look?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“19.” David hummed out and then smiled at her. Laurie rolled her eyes. “Last I checked I was 51.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were stunned. The Entity could alter appearances? That would make sense with the Killers and all. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and laid down on the dirt behind the log and fell asleep as best as he could.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up in a trial. He was used to this. Jake also expected the new map. He looked around to see a very normal street, which creeped him out. Jake looked around, walking into the more woodland area for a generator. He wondered what the killer was like. Laurie seemed to know it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake paused when he locked eyes with an unmoving man that was tall and built like a wall, wearing a creepy white mask. His weapon was a basic, but huge kitchen knife. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was so human compared to the others, which scared Jake more, especially since he hadn’t moved. He didn’t have the red light either. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at him from behind a tree when the head turned towards him, and slowly tilted to the side. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">New killers almost never knew what to do. He could use this to his advantage, but he was unable to move. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at the man when someone grabbed his arm. Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of god damn course it was Dwight. “Come on!” He dragged Jake away, who ran off but glanced at the killer. Creepy.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight pulled him towards a generator. Jake was just.. amazed that the man even talked to him and helped him out. He wasn’t complaining though. Jake pulled a rope out and held it with his teeth while he fixed the wires. Once they sparked, he grabbed the rope and tied it carefully while Dwight did the rest. The generator purred to life. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got up and turned to leave without saying anything to Dwight, or looking at him. Dwight watched him leave and sighed, going towards Laurie. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Neither noticed the man had placed his unique perk onto Jake, and was stalking him. Jake had decided to rummage through a chest when he felt something staring at him again. He looked up and saw the killer in the door way. Before he could react, it attacked him quickly. Jake tried to limp away, but was unable to reach the window in time. He was picked up and taken to a hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Most of the time, no one saved him when he was on a hook. Jake struggled against the bigger man, attempting to free himself before he reached a hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt the pain before he realized what happened. Jake had years of practice and pain tolerance, and only hissed loudly. He glared at the man in the mask and began to try to get off of the hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was weird, because he just stared and watched for a few seconds before leaving. Jake gave up and just waited for the evil claws of death to take him. He saw the fourth team member, Meg, ignore him on the hook. Fantastic. No saves today. Least he would be out a few days hopefully. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake coughed up blood when he hit the ground. Laurie had pulled him off and helped him up. “Come on! You’re not dyin’ tonight!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wished he had. He hated being at the camp fire. It was why he walked a lot. Plus, when he died he felt like he was doing something for the team that singled him out, like he was dying so they could win. Jake died more than he survived. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He took this opportunity to finish the last generator, teaching Laurie what to do as he did it. “Now there’s 2 doors. 50/50 chance of freedom. Just gotta pull the lever and wait.” He got up and took Laurie to the nearest one, flipping the switch and waiting. No heartbeat yet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Right when the door opened, the killer appeared, making a B-line for Laurie. Jake shoved her out of the way and took whatever hit the man just dealt as she escaped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Good. She survived her first game. The killer looked very annoyed at him. He just smiled. “Go on, kill me.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer, The Entity whispered ‘The Shape’ to him (which was how they knew what to call them), picked him up over his shoulder. He didn’t try to free himself, because even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to escape. The Shape put him on a hook and watched him die as the Entity sucked all of his energy out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t come back for 3 days. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After the day Jake told him that, Dwight was conflicted. He cared deeply about Jake, but really, it was his fault, wasn’t it? He pissed off the Entity and now every one of his friends had to suffer for it. Jake didn’t tell him the year, but it was two and a half years before him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t know what to think. Dwight just decided to push these thoughts away and ignore them. He was angry at Jake and he didn’t really know why. He had been alone with Jake for so long, he knew what the other was feeling a lot of the time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He could tell Jake was sad. Dwight was still angry at him though, but he couldn’t continue seeing him die over and over. He could count on two hands the times Jake survived this month. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why was he keeping track? Dwight didn’t know himself. He would sit on the log and talk to his friends, but deep inside he felt they didn’t really know him. Only Jake did. He couldn’t help but notice anything Jake did. Jake didn’t speak much before, but now they were lucky to get a sentence out of him. He would almost always sleep in the woods, away from everyone.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It had taken Dwight three years to finally realize that Jake was really suffering, and even if all of this was his fault, they had to work together to escape this hell. So, he began to try conversations. Either Jake was an asshole, nervous, or had forgotten how to socialize because he always got a stare and no reply, in trials or out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had to do something to get Jake’s attention. Dwight took this trial to rummage through chests until he found multiple decent items, and escaped with two others. He got to camp carrying the items. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ooo~ Dwight! Cha got a lotta nice stuff there. I know ya’ can’t use ‘em so who’s it for?” David spoke up, clearly wanting the items. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I got lucky with more tool based items this round. I was going to give them to Jake.” Dwight replied. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David crossed his arms. “Why him? He doesn’t deserve it.” A month ago he would have never done this for Jake. A month ago if he had these items he would have just given them to David or anybody else. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What changed? Why did everyone hate Jake? He gripped the tools tightly. “Because he needs them to save our butts sometimes!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David rolled his eyes. “That dude’s useless. He breaks hooks but that hardly helps!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had only felt this angry before when Jake told him all of that stuff. He got up and walked into the woods, hoping he could find Jake. Dwight paused when he heard Jake talking. Him? Talking? To what?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“-the fuck?” Jake hissed. “What the fuck did you do!?” Jake was yelling at something Dwight couldn’t see. He looked around a tree to see dark, massive claws coming from the ground with Jake yelling at them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I want my favorite little mouse happy</strong>.” It cooed, making Dwight’s skin crawl. This was the thing trapping him here and he could feel its power. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No! No! Cut the bullshit! I told you if you stay on me, to leave the others alone!” Jake growled and was kicking a random claw, that hardly reacted if at all. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You don’t want to be happy</strong>?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh shut the fuck up. I already know what will happen!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>What do you think will happen, little mouse</strong>?” It seemed to want to know what Jake had thought. Dwight felt a claw near him, but it went over his mouth before he could scream. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake crossed his arms. “It WILL happen, because you’re an asshole. Whatever the fuck you did to them will go away, and I can be friends with them. Then when I’m happy again or whatever, you’ll pull some demon shit and make me feel even more pain!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight could only watch and try to figure out what was going on. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity hummed. It was loud and non stop, rattling his brain. He had to hold his head to feel like he wasn’t dying. It was so loud. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Perhaps</strong>..”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And then, Jake’s heart dropped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I am getting bored of you</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake clenched his fists. “What can I do?” He was not having one of those people suffer like he did, or worse. Plus he was sure the Entity would do something to him to make sure he never helped them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Why do I have to tell you that?</strong>” If the thing had a face, it was grinning. “<strong>It’s much more fun to see you struggle to try to please me, just so everyone can have a sliver of happiness in my domain</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake kicked the claw again and began to pace around in circles. When he looked back, he was still surprised to see the claws there. ‘Why the fuck is it still here?’ Typically it left him alone after such encounter. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>If you can not find a way to make me pleased, I will find something much more worse for you</strong>.” It purred, almost tauntingly. The claws finally vanished. Jake angrily kicked the ground. “God DAMNIT.” It was just getting worse. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight’s claw was still there, holding him steady. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You are a sneaky mouse</strong>.” A voice hummed in his head. “<strong>How did you do that</strong>?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was crying. He didn’t know what he did, but the Entity sounded upset. “<strong>However, this could be more interesting in the end</strong>.” The claws left, and Dwight fell to the floor. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">All of that anger he felt towards Jake was gone. The Entity had done something to him, to his friends to hate Jake. Jake didn’t- Jake didn’t trap them here. He had tried for two and a half years before giving up, not knowing that more would suffer because of that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He blamed himself for all of them. Was that why he made that deal with the Entity? Dwight grabbed the tools and walked towards Jake, who was sitting on the ground. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Whatever the Entity did to him, was gone. He hadn’t noticed, but this lingering presence was in the back of his head making him hate Jake and feeding off of it. Now it was gone. For now, at least. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight sat beside Jake, who looked exhausted, almost more than Quentin. What was he supposed to say?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake..” Jake scooted away from him. Now that he understood, he knew why Jake distanced himself. Because if he made friends he would feed the Entity more... with his own pain. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But what if this was part of its plan? To let Dwight be his friend and make him hate him again? He stayed where he was and looked at the ground. “I miss being your friend.” This was true, even months prior when he hated Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man looked taken aback. “I.. i, uh, do too.” He sounded hesitant. Dwight set the tools down. “I got these for you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked at them and reached over, taking them slowly as if he was sure Dwight would start yelling at him or say ‘haha tricked you, they are a bomb!’ And explode. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“..thanks. You didn’t have to do that.” Jake seemed overly cautious. It reminded him of when they first met, when Jake looked at him as though he wasn’t real and just a trick from the Entity to hurt him more. He missed those days when it was just him and Jake sometimes. It was a lot easier than this, though this had longer breaks. He still had the urge to run the moment he got up, but Claudette would put a hand on his shoulder and stop him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He really hated the Trapper and Wraith because he dealt with them so long. Dwight had noticed the only matches Jake would win to (where he didn’t allow himself to die for another’s sake) were to Trapper and Wraith. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was leaning against a tree, fixing up the tools when a Raven landed on his head and settled down in his hair. The man didn’t seem to notice, and didn’t pause his work. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight couldn’t see where his hair started or ended as it meshed with the bird’s feathers. He had always been friends with the wildlife, and probably was a lot closer to them now than before. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had a secret stash of trinkets the crows bring him from the outside world. They brought beads, random shiny trash, coins, anything. In exchange, he would pet them, fix their feathers, sometimes they were hurt and he would patch them up. He had been collecting these things long before Dwight, and named them too. They were his only small happiness. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity knew his mouse would break if he had none. Dwight was staring at him, and the bird seemed nervous of him. Jake reached up and pat it softly twice before it calmed down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight slowly sat by a tree near Jake. “I-i’m sorry.” He blurted out. This made Jake pause and look up at him. “For what? You didn’t do anything.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes.. yes I did! I ignored you and.. and hurt you for years without realizing it.” He was crying. “You were my only friend, and in a way you still are! I’m.. just an ass.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No. You’re an idiot.” Jake set the tool he was working on down back in the pile. “Do you hate me?” Dwight shook his head. “...that motherfucker.” Jake said, pissed to all hell. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“W-wait! It- it isnt l-leaving you.” Dwight sputtered out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How the fuck- how do you know this?” Jake looked like he was about to attack him. He got up and gathered the tools. “Wait! I-i saw.. today. I saw it talking to you..” Jake stopped and grit his teeth. “Dwight I swear to God if you made a deal with that thing I will personally kill you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I didn’t, I promise.. but... It seemed surprised I was there and out of it’s hold.” Dwight admitted to Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at him. “Then you also know you being my friend again will satisfy it more when it rips you away.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight looked down and nodded. “Yes.. but, i-i can’t just let you suffer.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I have been for years. I’m used to it. Dwight, if you fuck this up and you take my place, I’m going to kill you. I really will. Don’t play hero.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight took a step forward. “If the Entity makes me hate you again.. please talk to me and try to make me remember. I’m going to help you if you like it or not.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at him and gripped his tools. Dwight knew he was weighing the options. Have a friend and feel worse pain later, or continue the dull pain, but risk the Entity getting bored of him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck me.” Jake groaned. Either option was awful, but one was worse. “Whatever. We will think of a way to get your stupid brain not to hate me when it gets to you again.” Dwight nodded and smiled, then hugged Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was frozen. He could not name one time in his life when he was hugged. It jumbled up all of his emotions, and he slowly pat Dwight’s back, unsure what to do. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had a friend, now. He would lose this friend, but he could be happy for a bit. They could find a way to do this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt his skin prickle. “Damn. Trial time.” He moved away from Dwight, who was not being sent. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t sacrifice yourself!” He heard Dwight quickly say as he suddenly blinked into a nice home. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh fucking great it was THAT killer again. The Shape. He quickly bolted to the generator downstairs and began to repair it, hoping he would not be that things obsession this time. Killers had perks, and this one was dead onto stalking and hunting. Jake had a hard time noticing him, which was bad. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Speaking of the devil, he looked up to see the man in the doorway, staring at him. Just his luck. He was still at Tier 1, so Jake quickly used this time to finish the generator without running away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He counted the seconds, and it should have been less than 20 before he attacked. Instead, he got to 21 and looked at the man again, who continued to watch. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Weird. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finished the generator and darted upstairs as fast as he could, since the dude was blocking the only doorway escape. Jake decided to make it look like he jumped out a window and hid in a locker. The Shape went up the stairs in no time and looked out of the window, before turning right for the locker. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fuck. He braced himself when the lockers opened, but no stab. Jake glared at him. Was this a trick? He couldn’t move from the lockers, the man had trapped him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And just stared. He couldn’t see his eyes. Did he even have a face? The sound of another generator snapped the man from his thoughts, and he just left. Jake was stunned. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And horrified. What if this was also the Entity’s doing? Oh fuck. He looked downstairs to see the relight appear, and Michael enter Tier 2 before walking off to kill someone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What was with that killer? He went downstairs and looked around for another generator to see Quentin working on one. Jake quickly joined him, wordlessly working side by side. Even if they hated him, they did not try to make Jake die or lose, since they still needed his help. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had missed him, deep down. He wondered if any of the others liked him secretly, then. Jake finished the generator, and Quentin left without saying anything. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David was the worst though. David would actually punch him, and the wounds would not heal until he died. David seemed to think Jake did this on purpose, dragging everyone here and making them suffer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt his heartbeat pick up and quickly left the area, but it stayed. He was being chased. Jake darted through any obstacles he could, throwing down pallets and trying to get the man off of him. He saw Claudette appear, and The Shape went after her. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He promised Dwight he wouldn’t sacrifice himself for people. Claudette seemed to expect Jake would do it and not realized she was in danger, and was hooked. No one came to save her, and Jake was too far away to. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Shape slowly picked the other two off. Jake finished up the last generator needed to open the hatch, but he needed the key. He felt Quentin be put on the hook. Shit. It was just him. He ran directly towards where Quentin was, but was too late. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had to find the key- but.. if he survived alone, the others would be angry at him. He had dome it only once before during a really bad trial, and David beat the shit out of him when he came back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake found an empty hook and contemplated just sitting at it, when his thoughts instantly went back to years ago. Entity liked a struggle. But.. would it expect this?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It had said to do things he had never done before, so..</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pushed some objects up to the hook and climbed into them. He was going to impale himself. Jake inhaled and braced himself, turning around and jumping onto the hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The pain was so much worse since it was himself doing it. He cried out and thrashed, trying anything to help subdue the pain that washed over him. His vision was fading fast, but he saw The Shape just watching him from a distance away, curious as to why he did this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wanted to flip him off before he died, but he couldn’t move his arms. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slowly opened his eyes and saw the moon overhead. Jake sat up and walked in a random direction, ending up at the camp in less than 300 steps. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was there and looked up at him. “Jake!” He ran over to him. Jake could see he looked stressed. “What the fuck did you do!?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” Jake asked. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You were out for two weeks!” Dwight was shaking. “No one could figure out what happened! Quentin was the last to die and nothing after that!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Two weeks? Jake knew that more days meant Entity was more pleased, but fucking two weeks?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh.” Was all his reply was. Dwight was crying. “I thought you were gone for good..” Jake awkwardly pat his head. “That won’t happen.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What did you do?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh...” Jake looked anywhere but Dwight. “I was killed on a hook....” He trailed off. He wasn’t lying, just holding back some truths. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That d-doesn’t answer the question!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“W-well, you know last time I survived alone?” Dwight nodded, sitting down now with Jake, who noticed there were only a few others. Must be in a trial. “David beat the shit out of me. I didn’t want that to happen.. plus you heard what-“ His voice went very quiet. “-the Entity said.” Jake shrugged. “I have to keep it entertained.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What did you do?” He asked for the third time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I impaled myself on a hook.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was shocked, angry, confused, then angry again. “Jake!! I was so worried about you!” He liked hearing those words. He only heard them from Dwight, and the last time was over five years ago. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well I know what Entity likes.” ‘That killer seemed to like it too. Maybe it will spare me if I do things that entertain it in the game?’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie was sitting on the log beside them, the only other person there since the other four were in a trial. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She spoke up. “Your killer was him, right?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Shape. Yeah. Why?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I had a trial with him a few days ago. Everyone said after that trail he changed. Like, he is way more.. random. We can’t find a pattern to him anymore. He used to target me, back in the real world, but that changed.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake just shrugged. “I dunno. The Entity thinks of us as mice, and the killers as cats. He could have just loosened the leash a bit on Michael?” Jake had no idea. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie stared at him before sighing. Dwight looked at Jake and smiled shyly. Jake stared at Dwight, noticing the bags under his eyes and the strain in his movements. “Sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded slowly, but didn’t lay on the dirt like normal. Jake guessed he was too mentally tired and relieved he was back, that the man laid down and put his head on his leg, almost instantly falling asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at him and took off his glasses and held them. They actually did this all of the time, back when it was just them two. No pillows, and arms hurt. Dwight would sleep on one of his thighs, while Jake would occasionally sleep on his. The other times he was too embarrassed, and used his jacket as a pillow. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie stared at them. There wasn’t much else to look at, anyways. “You two seem.. close.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked up at her. “Mm.” He hummed, offering no real answer. Why would she care anyway? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Two returned, Meg and Claudette. They were holding hands and sat down beside one another, chatting away. They had been together for years, and Jake knew they were a good match. He could see them putting flower crowns in each others hair. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake closed his eyes as he sat up. He wasn’t tired- he had been out for two weeks apparently. The others actually asked him questions about the trial, and let him into the conversation for a bit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wow- you did that? Why?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake shrugged. “Wanted to piss the Killer off.” It was true in a sense. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Meg actually laughed. “Oh my god! That’s hilarious! I bet the Entity was pissed.” Far from it. “Was that why you were gone so long? Because you pissed that demon off?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded, but knew it was because it loved it. It only took one day for Quentin and David to return. While Jake was ‘dead’, it only took everyone a day to come back, and that still seemed to be the case. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had to think of something to do to keep the Entity entertained. He knew it was fine, probably for another year to be honest, but he would have to think of something new every time it got bored, or else it would do something worse, and Jake did not want to see what that was. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He knew what he was for the Entity. The Entity threatened him over and over because it knew Jake would do anything to keep it entertained. It was why it liked Jake the most. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It would be another year before the Entity grew bored. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">In that time, the Entity’s grasp on his group loosened, and he could actually hold conversations with them rarely. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Trails with the killers didn’t change, except with Michael. He learned the name from Laurie, who finally told them all her life. If Jake was not there, Michael would be less aggressive and more stalkery. If he was, he would try to kill everyone except Jake as fast as he could. Jake hated this, and would do anything he could not to be alone with the killer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first time The Shape managed to get him alone, he calmed down from his murderous rage and followed Jake around, just watching. It was worse than dying. He would not allow Jake to finish generators, or search chests. He seemed to just want to watch Jake, up until the moment time ran out, and Entity stabbed him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This happened about 1/3 times when surviving against Michael. The other 2/3 was when he escaped with his group. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was strange, and it made Jake curious about the Killer. The next time he was stuck with him, he decided that this was how he was going to surprise the Entity. He was going to try to be friends with a killer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake could almost hear what the Entity would say. ‘A cat and mouse can not be friends. I will starve that cat until it eats you, then you’ll see if a cat can be a friend.’ Or something like that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake spawned into Michael’s domain and walked around. He always tried to escape, but until he saw no hope, he would enter his typical 1/3 plan. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael seemed even more aggressive this time. He downed someone before Jake could even reach a generator. They were dead before a minute passed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Great. He heard Michael’s theme, but ignored it. Michael rarely slashed him, since he just seemed to want to watch Jake. It was even more rare to be hooked by Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man watched him fix the generator for a moment before yanking him off and throwing him on the ground. Jake could tell by his vibe, that Michael seemed angry, as if he would suddenly talk and say ‘You should know by now not to do that.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake flipped him off and ran away. He found Dwight in a locker and pulled him out. “Stop hiding. We need to escape.” Dwight knew what happens when Jake was left alone, and slowly nodded. He got up and Jake dragged him to a generator and began to work on it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The other person was downed by Michael, and soon after put on a hook. “Go get them. I’ll distract him.” Dwight nodded a left. A few seconds later, Jake let the generator mess up and blow up in his face. He heard Michael coming, and was happy when he felt Dwight save the other person. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael suddenly appeared and downed Jake, before picking him up and taking him to a hook. Shit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hissed when the thing pierced his shoulder, and began to kick himself free, but it was fruitless. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael walked away, and right when he felt he was about to die, Dwight saved him. He coughed up blood and hit the ground, dizzy. Michael had been hiding, and came out, stabbing Dwight and putting him on the hook he was just on. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake couldn’t get up enough energy to save him, but it was made worse when Michael picked him up and took him away. He looked at Dwight, to see him staring at him with a sorry expression before he died. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael threw him into the corner of the map and left to kill the last survivor, which Jake hadn’t seen yet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He tried to find a medkit, but was unlucky with every chest he crawled to. Jake just laid down when he felt the last person get sacrificed. A few moments later, Michael appeared and picked him up again, carrying him to a random house and setting him down in front of a chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake glared at him but carefully dug around it, finding what he needed. He had never spoken to him before, but the year was coming up from when he first sacrificed himself on the hook. It was likely the Entity was getting bored again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your name is Michael, right?” Jake said while patching himself up. No reply from the killer. What a shock. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m Jake.” He ripped the bandage with his teeth and fixed up other wounds. Might as well, before he died. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael stood there, watching him. He made no move to do anything. Could he even understand him? Jake was used to one sided conversations though, with his ravens. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finished patching himself up and looked at the masked man. “Can you understand me?” Jake stayed sitting down, leaning against the chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael, to Jake’s surprise, sat down and leaned against the wall, but continued to stare. There was a chance he could make friends with him, then. It would probably take a while, though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wasn’t much of a talker, but this man was worse than him somehow, and never spoke a word or made a noise. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat in almost comfortable silence, waiting for the timer to tick down. When it got to 30 seconds, he spoke up again. “We should do this again. I’m not going to stop trying to escape though, so you’ll have to stop me, but this was kind of nice.” Jake saw the claws come up, and he swore he saw them pause before they killed him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Questions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake questions many things, and learns nothing</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up 3 days later and rolled over, pushing himself up slowly. He sat on his legs and looked around, not wanting to go to the campfire just yet. Jake made a noise similar to that of a whistle, and a crow Jake named Remmy flew down and landed on his outstretched arm. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He scratched it’s chin and neck feathers gently, making the bird happy. Another landed beside his feed and cawed, wanting pets as well. Jake reached down and gently pat it’s body carefully before scratching its chin. The bird on his arm jumped on his messy hair and settled in it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He closed his eyes while petting the second raven named Pompa, when he heard someone walking nearby. Pompa flew off, but Remmy stayed in his hair. Jake opened his eyes to see Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey.” The other said quietly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hi.” Jake closed his eyes again as Dwight sat beside him and looked at the bird in his hair. “Why does it go into your hair?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think she thinks its a nest. Remmy is weird like that.” Jake said, reaching up to pet the raven again, which ruffled its feathers and cooed, opening its mouth and staying still. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight memorized the name silently, flipping it over in his mind. Crows meant a lot to Jake. He didn’t realize the man named them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I got back yesterday.” Dwight told him. “David’s pissed at you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“When is he not?” Jake said quietly. “I’ll avoid him as long as I can.” Dwight nodded and leaned against a tree. He could see why Jake liked it out here, rather than the camp fire. The man lived alone in the woods for years before this, and was used to being a solo survivor. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wondered what through Jake’s head, especially since he learned just recently that Jake willingly gave up his happiness just so they could be happy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight looked at his hands, then to Jake. The Entity would most likely make him hate Jake again. He had to find a way to remember how amazing and nice Jake was. The crow on his head shuffled and began to grab tufts of his hair and search through it like it was searching for a worm. Jake was unbothered, most likely used to it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He watched as Jake clicked his tongue in a loud way, which the crow instantly stood up on alert and flew to his arm. He pulled a bolt out of his pocket, shiny and small, and handed it to Remmy. The bird tilted her head side to side before grabbing it and flying off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake liked giving them gifts. The birds seemed to like it too. Dwight shuffled closer to Jake. “Do you want to go back tothe camp fire?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. sure.” He got up slowly and pat himself down, glancing around carefully. Jake sensed something watching him in the woods, and felt uneasy. Dwight got up and walked back to camp beside Jake. Dwight was trying his best not to think about Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Asian-American man just looked tired, not Quentin tired, but tired. There were 4 logs around the fire. Most of the time, they sat in pairs: Meg and Claudette, David and Quentin, and Dwight and Laurie. Jake almost all of the time sat on his own log. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But now that Dwight was ‘free’, he would sit next to Jake and talk to him more than his other comrades, mainly missing his friend and talking to him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was like an egg, though. Hard to crack at first, he had to be patient and keep at it. Dwight had hatched that egg before, long ago, he would do it again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The black haired male found himself paying attention to conversations for once. “- and Whizz, the white cat, spilt coffee all over my important documents! It was the biggest mess and got all over the floor. It took me forever to clean it, then I had to reprint the documents! I was late, but explained it, and was fine.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had heard this story and any other story Dwight said years ago, but seeing Dwight energetic and telling stories with such happiness, it made him happy. Plus he hadn’t heard them in so long he was fine with it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He peaked into Quentin’s conversation. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The thing I miss the most..? A bed.. and toilet paper. And eating. Oh! Also, I was watching this movie series and the last movie was supposed to come out the year I got stuck in here. I’ll never know how it ends...” The teen trailed off and went silent. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Nah, you’ll get ta’ see it mate!” David said, wrapping his arm around Quentin. “One day we ‘ill all be outta’ here!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran a hand through his hair and sighed softly. Had he even told Dwight anything about his past? He looked at the man, who was talking about his cats again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight.” The man went quiet and confused, since Jake rarely interrupted him. “Have I ever told you about my life?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Not.... not really. You hardly talk about yourself. Or at all.” Dwight scratched the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. do you want to know?” Jake looked up at him, and Dwight nodded. He truly did want to know Jake more. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, my father was a very wealthy man, and planned out my entire life before I was born.” Jake pulled a feather out of his hair and flicked it away nonchalantly. “I hated it. I hated the lavish lifestyle and strict everything. In the end, I ran away and survived in the woods for about two years. Mom checked up on me occasionally, but I could never make her happy like my brother.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He noticed everyone was quiet. Shit, did they actually hear that and care? Jake looked at Dwight, who was silent. “Y-you were.. suffering so bad at home that you would rather live in the woods?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake shrugged. “I guess. No one could tell me to do anything.” He sighed. Dwight seemed to be reaching far back in his mind to think. “No way- are you Jake Park?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake winced at his name. “..why?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight seemed to have connected all of the stars at once. “Oh my god! Your mother was worried sick and paid the news to help find you! Your family was loaded!” He went quiet. “Was it that bad? To run away?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This again. Of course. ‘You had everything! You could do anything! You have so much money, why leave?’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake clenched his fists. “Yes. It felt like hell. Not compared to this. I would rather that life, than this, but it was hell. I couldn’t do anything I wanted. I could never please my father. My older brother was the perfect child. I kept failing father, and he ruined everything for me.” Jake inhaled. He had never told anyone this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I did not have friends, and my family were basically strangers. I went on a walk one day when I was 14 and found love for the wild. Are you happy, now?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight put a hand on his shoulder. “You did not have to tell me. How long- how long were you holding that in?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t realize it, but he did feel better. He looked up at Dwight. “Always?” Jake didn’t understand the question. He seemed worried and concerned. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie spoke up first. “I don’t know you all that well, but you shouldn’t hold things in forever like that.” Jake flicked his eyes towards her, and sighed. Everyone seemed conflicted. They had alright lives, life had good times and bad. Dwight was a manager of a pizza restaurant, but had no friends, for example. They all had their own struggles. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David was still going to beat Jake, but later. He seemed the most conflicted, which Jake assumed it was because he was rich, but just lived how he wanted with it with next to no worries. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had long passed his social limit now, since he had just spilled his life story to the group. He got up and walked off into the loop again, not saying goodbye or anything. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard Dwight run after him, though. He also heard the man trip and fall flat on his face. Jake stopped and turned around and walked towards Dwight, who was sitting up and was very flustered. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was trying to find his glasses, but couldn’t. Jake picked them up and crouched in front of Dwight and slid them onto his face. “Dork.” Jake smiled a bit. Dwight had dirt all over his face and was hurt, but smiled back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No I’m not.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes you are. You wear glasses and a tie. You’re a certified dork.” Jake stuck his tongue out at him and helped Dwight up. “I’m gonna take a nap before the next trial. You should go back.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He thought about it, before shaking his head slowly. “I want to stay with you.”Dwight swore he saw a very faint blush, but it was hard to tell in the darkness, and since Jake yanked him up and turned to walk deeper into the forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight followed after Jake, until they were wherever Jake wanted to be, and laid down beside a bush. The other sat next to him. Jake put his head on his leg and closed his eyes. It really felt like years ago, when they used to do this. Dwight smiled to himself and leaned against the tree. Even now, he had nothing to do but stare at Jake sleeping. He wondered if Jake also stared at him while he had slept. Was he just being weird? Probably. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t have time to wake Jake up, when he was suddenly sucked into a trial. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake tripped and fell right into his trial, not having woken up. He quickly got up and hid. Shit. It was the Wraith’s domain. Great. He had managed to sabotage 3 hooks and distract the Wraith long enough for the door to be powered. He dodged the next attack and bolted straight for the door. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard the bell, and knew he only had a few seconds left. Jake made a harsh right when he heard the bell again, making the Wraith miss. He slid into the doorway and laughed from on the ground. He sat up and flipped Wraith off and walked back to camp. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The next trials four trials he went to, he managed to survive. The fifth was Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake opened his eyes to see he was by a car, and looked around. It was quiet, so he made his way to a nearby hook and quickly got rid of it, then worked on the generator near it. Telling by how silent it was, he could guess it was Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt someone get downed already, and quickly fixed the wires and plugs before leaving the generator almost complete to find his friend.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were just put on a hook when he found them. It was David. He watched Michael leave and quickly ran up and pulled David off. Jake tried to run so he could continue fixing the generator, but he got tugged back by his scarf. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake choked and looked back to see David, pissed. ‘Oh shit.’ He forgot why David wanted to punch him, but also forgot he should be avoiding him. It had been days. David wanted to remind him, though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You left us for dead.” He growled. Though it didn’t make sense to Jake, he knew not to anger him more like this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David punched his face hard, then kneed his stomach. Jake grit his teeth but fell over when David let go. David stepped on Jake as he walked away, fuming. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat up slowly and held his head. He did not understand why David did this, but what could he do? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stood up, grabbing onto the hook’s wooden frame before wobbling into a standing position. He couldn’t feel the pain exactly, but his body was telling him not to move. He ignored it and went back to the generator. No pain from other survivors healed. He learned that when David decided to make multiple bruises on him, and upon using a bandage, he was perfectly healed of everything else. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was so weird. When he finished the generator, he felt someone get Moried. Jake sat up, much to his stomach’s displeasure, and snuck around until he found another and began to work on it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was always fearsome, and rarely did they win against him. He was aggressive, obsessive, and loved to kill more than the other killers it seemed. Though looking the most like a human, he was probably the least. Laurie called him a monster, or the Boogieman. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake thought otherwise, since Michael was standing over him, blood coating him, watching Jake attempt to fix the generator. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and stopped before Michael could throw him off. He didn’t want his body to hurt more. Michael picked him up and carried him towards a chest, and set him down in front of it. If it was like last time, he wanted him to heal. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He went through the chest and pulled out bandages and wrapped them around the wounds he had gotten this round. Michael grabbed his wrist with his left hand, and with the right, with his knife, pointed it at his stomach. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Did he know?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No. It doesn’t work.” Michael pointed again, almost nicking him. “Fine, but I’m telling you I told you so.” Jake lifted up his shirt and held it with his mouth, wrapping the bandage around his stomach carefully. He never understood how just a cloth could help, but many things the Entity did he didn’t question. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Unlike his other wounds, these did not vanish. He had a big one on his stomach, one forming on his cheek, and one forming on his side. Michael seemed angry. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wanted to say ‘i told you so’, but after seeing the man this pissed, he decided it was not a good idea to have all of that anger towards him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Stop wasting our time with your anger issues.” Jake fixed his shirt and Jacket, sitting down on the sidewalk beside the chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael slowly calmed down and stared at him, standing. “Sit.” Jake told him. To his surprise, he did. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at him, before looking away and seeing Reggy. He clicked his tongue, and the crow quickly flew over to him and rubbed her beak on his good cheek. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake scratched her chin and smiled softly. He never understood how they got here, as he would see her and the others back at camp later, or in all the other maps. He felt Michael staring at him, and looked up to meet eyes with the soulless black eyes of the mask. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He glanced at Michael’s hands. Would a killer be able to safely pet a crow? His hands were huge- and he didn’t know if Michael could be soft. Well, if he wanted to bond with a killer they had to so something. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you want to pet her?” Jake asked, and Michael stared before suddenly getting up. Remmy cawed and fluffed up, getting spooked by Michael. “Whoa- wait. You have to be slow.” Jake calmed the raven down, gently cooing at it until its feathers were flat. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t notice Michael was next to him, and flinched. Jake was uneasy with a killer so close, but after a year with Michael almost never killing him, he knew he was in almost no danger. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But not noticing a killer suddenly beside him? Jake slowly moved his arm towards Michael. “Be slow and pat her like this.” He lifted up his hand and used his palm to gently pat the bird. “Very soft. Like, uh.. a... baby?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael wasn’t looking at him, but at the raven, observing how Jake was doing it. He moved his hand away, watching at Michael moved his hand a bit too fast for comfort, and firmly pat the bird. He watched it slightly bounce, then fluff up. Jake scratched her chin. “Try, uh, gentler.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael pat the bird again, but softer this time. Remmy slowly calmed down after realizing he was not a threat, staring at the killer. Jake smiled a bit, slightly amazed Michael could be soft. Remmy flapped her wings once, and landed on Michael’s broad shoulder. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He watched Michael tense up and go to swat it. “Don’t.” Jake huffed. “She only does this to people she trusts.” ‘Is he a person?’ Jake thought randomly. ‘Probably.. some people are monsters.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael moved his hand down that he was going to use to swat her away. Jake turned around and shuffled through the chest again and grabbed a nut used for .. something. Jake held it out to Remmy, who instantly perked up in interest and took it, flying off quickly to who knows where. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When he looked back at Michael, he was looking at him. “They like shiny things.” Jake shrugged. He felt the timer slowly going down. He guessed he had about 5 minutes remaining. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was still close to him, and leaned forward. Jake instantly scooted backwards in fear and slammed against a wall. By the time he looked up, Michael was in front of him, and he was stuck. No escape. Michael lifted up the knife and Jake closed his eyes, preparing for the blow, but none came. He looked up at Michael to see him pointing at his stomach again with the knife. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Why the fuck is he so weird?’ Jake could never understand him, or know what his next move was. “You want to.. stab me?” No reply. “Uhh.. oh. My bruise?” A knife jab. That must mean yes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nervously rolled up his shirt and took off the bandages that did nothing for the pain David gave. If anything, it looked worse. Maybe Michael was wondering why it didn’t heal? Or the fact survivors could hurt one another?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wondered if the killers had their own campfire thing and fought one another. Jake would ask later. Right now he wished those five minutes were seconds, so he could die sooner. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer continued to stare at him, and he fixed his shirt while trying to move as far away from him as he could, especially because he could see his friends blood drying on his blue coveralls and knife. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael sat back, but kept him trapped against the wall. Jake was looking anywhere but him until he could visibly feel the timer at the 1 minute mark. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“U-uhm.. I’ll see you later?” Jake asked. He got no reply, but knew it would happen. The claws came up, poised to attack, but waited a few moments before striking Jake, as if confused why they were so close. Why the cat wasn’t killing the mouse. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake woke up laying on the forest floor sideways, looking into the endless, repeating trees. He felt like he saw this so many times. Dying often would do that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slowly got up and sighed, picking a random direction and following it. He knew whatever he was doing, was keeping that thing entertained. He felt relived, really. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked into the campfire to see Meg and Claudette kissing like there was no tomorrow, and Quentin. He sat down quietly on a log and stared at the fire. One good thing about it, was it provided light, and felt warm. It also made crackling noises, but they were on a loop. Everything else in this world didn’t do that unless it was important, like a generator. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a few minutes, Quentin struck up a conversation with him, going bored from the fire and the two women going at it with loud kisses. “So...” The tired teen started. “Do you know what happens when we ‘die’?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had thought about it a million times before, but no one knew. Not even him. “No. I imagine our souls or something are with that thing and it feeds off of it until nothing is left from the trial.” Jake said to Quentin, who seemed interested. “That’s.. really logical. I just thought we were dead dead, until the Entity just revived us, but that would make more sense. That we are just food for it. It would explain the hooks.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded. He had many, many days to have thought about it, but alone. He and Quentin talked occasionally, mainly the younger asking a question and they both theorize on it every few minutes. Neither exactly talked that much, Jake guessed it was because Quentin was always tired. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Entity is like a demon right?” Quentin asked. “He isn’t the devil, but I don’t think its a demon, more like.. a really bored God.” Jake shrugged. That was his personal idea, that this thing was as old as time and was bored as fuck. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Bored?” Quentin asked. “Yeah.” Jake realized if the teen kept asking questions, he would have to eventually tell the younger about why he knew how it was bored. It would be Dwight all over again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“... hm.” Was all he said. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You should sleep.” Jake told him, glancing back to see the girls walking off together into the woods. Quentin didn’t see them leaving and nodded in agreement. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake rested his head on his palms with his elbows on his knees and closed his eyes. Not to sleep, but to think and wait until their trial was up. He hoped Dwight lived through it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He thought back to Michael, and how odd the killer was. He heard footsteps and looked up to see David and Laurie returning, laughing happily about their trial. They only had 3, which was rare but happened. It was even rarer that anyone won from games of 3. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed as he would have to wait for Dwight. David sat on the log beside a sleeping Quentin and explained their trial to the other two women with excitement. Jake couldn’t bother to listen in, until he heard Dwight’s name. He hated the fact he listened only when the others talked about his friend. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“- so Dwight ran in front of the Huntress and ducked right as she swung! It was so cool- especially for Dwight! He looped her around for a minute, and then juked her, AGAIN! Oh my god she was so pissed!” David laughed. “She moried him, but he saved our asses! We-“ Jake tuned them out again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had been moried a thousand times, but he hated hearing or seeing anyone else be killed like that. Jake ran a hand through his hair. The only good thing about being moried, was they always came back the next day. Death by killer was not pleasing to the Entity. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was sure the killers had to also keep the Entity happy by killing them. If that wasn’t the case, why hook them? They all really enjoyed murder. Was it heaven for them, or was it also a hell?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had never thought about this before and stood up to walk into the forest to think. It could be a heaven for killers, but that wouldn’t make sense, too. If it was, they would kill over and over again. The Entity referred to them as Cats, so a pet?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked around, subconsciously keeping track of the steps. The killers had free reign to kill, but if the cat did not bring a reward to their owner, they would be punished. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He would have to see if this was really the case, because if it was heaven for them, why would Michael do what he does to Jake? He would have to be displeasing the Entity... unless the Entity found it amusing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran a hand through his hair and groaned. Why was this all so confusing? He kept walking, counting the steps, then stopped. 1,500 steps. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That never happened. He should have been back at the camp fire. Where was he? Jake had not panicked in a long time, but just knew the Entity was pulling shit again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Calm down. Fuck. It’s fine. Get whatever the demon wants from you, and it will bring you back.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He kept walking, the forest never changing, but he was extremely aware of his surroundings. He kept counting his steps. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then he saw something he thought he would never see again. A symbol on a tree, a spiral. He was back in the old forest? What the fuck was the Entity playing here? He touched it- and it was there. He could feel it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake knew where he was from his old memories, and walked to their sleeping spot. Nothing was there. The silence was somehow deafening. There was nothing, like this world was abandoned. Jake just prayed (to the Entity) that he could leave and not be stuck here. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then he heard a bush rustle, and Jake hid. It terrified him to see himself stumble onto the safe area and lay down.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Honestly, he looked awful. Caked in dirt, his hair a complete mess, absolutely tired. “Fuck.” He heard his doppelgänger say. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was weird as fuck. He was defiantly going to punch the Entity when he saw it next. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Suddenly, he was yanked up, something coiled around his leg and pulled him up until he was dangling. It was unmistakable- those claws. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got his bearings and punched the claw in front of him as hard as he could. It didn’t react, of course. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Watch</strong>.” It spoke lowly, setting Jake back down. Jake remembered this now- he hadn’t before. This was when he first gave up. He could actually see the life and everything else just.. vanish. He remembered these feelings and thoughts very well, and knew he just.. no emotions. Nothing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>It isn’t very tasty to feel that, is it</strong>?” The Entity purred. Jake had to stop himself. If he gave up, everyone would suffer. He kicked the claw holding him off and ran up to himself, but realized he was nothing but a ghost. Well, he was real. The doppelgänger sitting down was hazy and fuzzy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What is this?” Jake demanded. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I don’t have to tell you</strong>.” It purred in his head. “<strong>You can guess</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Bored? No. He was entertaining it with Michael. It was something else. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You’ve seemed to find a pattern in my domain</strong>..” Jake knew it did not like that. He didn’t even know what he figured out that pissed the Entity off. “<strong>Do you want to see</strong>?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">See what? Whatever it was, it was bad. He knew it. He could tell in its voice it was playing something. “No.” Jake turned and walked off, but quickly found his way back to where he just was. “Are you going to keep me here until I say yes?” No reply. Jake flipped him off. “Take me back to camp.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Don’t you want to know what happens when you die</strong>?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake did, but not like this. “No. Leave me the fuck alone.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Don’t be boring</strong>.” It said, almost as a threat. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So this is what it was, to see his reaction to whatever awful thing it did to them? No. He could use this later- He was keeping it pleased for the moment with Michael. He could save this and use it later when the Entity got bored again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I will... but later.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Oh</strong>?” It purred. “<strong>I’ll be waiting, then</strong>.” Jake could tell something was off. It was lying, wasn’t it? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The claws vanished, and so did his doppelgänger, but the forest stayed. Jake walked back the way he guessed he came and touched the tree a last time with the spiral. ‘..I had really bad experiences here.. but Dwight made me have some good ones.’ </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake slid his hand off and left the silent forest. He realized that the forest they resided in now was louder than that quiet one, and he had never noticed. Despite it having no wind or wildlife, the birds would be cawing somewhere, or leaves would rustle randomly, and he could almost always hear laughter from the camp fire. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was the Entity telling him, that if he gave up he would lose this? Or, that it would revert back to how it once was? This.. this right here was better than the forest before. Jake laid down a few feet away from the light of the campfire, and fell asleep, too tired to continue to think about all the questions he had swirling around in his mind. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Room</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake has questions about Michael, and speculates.<br/>Michael keeps finding him more and more interesting.<br/>Dwight’s feelings grow for the solo survivalist.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The whole point to all of this? A game to please a God. If it goes unhappy, it will find the worst ways to punish you. Jake knew this from the first month he was here, breaking every rule he could just to piss it off. They didn’t have dreams here- they had nightmares. Jake sat up the moment he woke up and got into a running position when someone grabbed his wrist. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was still used to waking up and fleeing the moment he was awake, despite it being years ago. Jake looked down to see Dwight there, looking up at him knowingly. “We are safe.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake relaxed slowly and remembered that, no he was not in that forest. He sat down and sighed. “Sorry.” He told Dwight, running a hand through his hair. Was he supposed to tell him what happened? He wondered if he still looked that disgusting. Did they age? He wondered if the Entity was in his head without him knowing, controlling him for entertainment. Dwight had said it felt natural, like his own thoughts. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hit his head a few times. No! No more questions. Dwight looked worried. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Last time he said yes to Dwight as a lie, it didn’t go well. “No. Don’t worry about it.” Jake looked at Dwight, who still seemed concerned. “Alright. I just got back and sat down beside you but.. noticed..” Jake nodded, understanding. When they had nightmares, it was customary to wake the person up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was harder for Jake to, since most of the time he slept was alone with no one to help. “Thanks.” They never remembered the nightmares, thankful for that though. He inhaled slowly and leaned against a tree. ‘The Entity knows I’m trying something with Michael. Will it put me in more trials with him now? I don’t win against him.’ Jake gripped the cold dirt below him. Everything was weird, now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight I think the Entity is making everyone not hate me that much anymore?” He said as a question, since he was still unsure. “Quentin and I talked a lot today. That was new.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded and seemed very happy at the news. “I’m so glad! I hope so.. I mean, I know y-you really never got to meet them for real?” Dwight was very nervous now, trying not to upset Jake. “N-not saying it was your fault or anything but I-i think that hate the E-entity started w-when the trials first-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight.” The other snapped his mouth closed. “Shut up. I know, and I’m fine.” The man nodded slowly and looked away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt the pull of the trial, and sighed. He knew Dwight wouldn’t be there. “See you later.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When he opened his eyes, he was in a swampy area. Damnit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had noticed the bruise on Jake’s face but had said nothing. He knew what happened, and Jake was probably in pain from it. David seemed to hate him the most for some reason, and it was bad since he was a fighter. He used Jake like a punching bag, but he never fought back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was worried Jake blamed himself for everything that happened. Dwight walked into the camp light, and saw Quentin and Meg. The teen was asleep, God knows he needed it, and Meg was laying down on the log. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Done making out with Jake?” She said, looking up at him. Dwight grew flustered and sat down. “I-i wasn’t-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ya want to, then?” Meg was always like this, being very forward. Dwight turned red and instantly walked into the forest. Why was he flustered at her words? He chewed on his nails as he walked deep into the loop. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake escaped through the hatch, new wounds and bleeds healing. David had punched him again and called him a pussy when he ran off, but he just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. He rubbed his arm where David punched him and walked back to camp slowly. He really did not want to go back, but didn’t want to be alone either. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He walked into the camp light to see that Dwight wasn’t there. Odd. He sat down and closed his eyes. David would be here soon. He was really hoping Dwight would be here. David retuned without Claudette, grim and angry. He sat on the log beside Jake, glaring daggers at the smaller man. “You left us before we got out.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The killer was right behind me. It was either escape or get hooked.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David growled lowly. “Claudette died because of you!” Jake shrugged and sighed. “Sorry? I couldn’t do anything.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David got up and grabbed Jake’s scarf and yanked him upwards. “Dick! You let her die! You could have distracted the killer longer!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt something creep along his back, like a tingle, and grip onto his angry emotion. That. That was the Entity. He could not hate David, or else the Entity would use it against him and lock onto it for entertainment. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt pain in his bruised cheek again. Damnit, he got punched their twice before it could heal the first time. Jake didn’t fight back, even if he did he would lose against David. The man dropped him, shaking with anger. Meg grabbed him and pulled him away, saying something Jake couldn’t understand. He sat up and looked up to see Dwight, crying. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fuck. This day was awful. Jake used the log and a nearby tree to stand up and walk into the woods, knowing Dwight would follow. He sat down 52 steps away and leaned against a tree. Dwight ran up and grabbed his hand. He was still crying. “Jake-“ He rasped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m fine.” Jake promised him, making sure to hide his cheek from Dwight. “Stop crying.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But- you-“ Dwight was speaking almost utter nonsense, and Jake couldn’t understand it. “Calm down. I can’t understand you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight went quiet before letting go of his hand. It looked like he saw a ghost (or, the Entity in this case). “S.. sorry.” His voice was quiet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed and took off his jacket and folded it up neatly before setting it down as a makeshift pillow. He pat it, signaling for Dwight to use it. Dwight did, laying down on it and relaxing. He tried to not focus on the scent of the woods, and what he assumed to be Jake’s smell, absolutely imbedded into the jacket as he fell asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Idiot.’ The Asian-American thought as he took ofd Dwight’s glasses and folded them carefully. He remembered the first time Dwight broke his glasses. It was almost funny seeing the Entity confused as to why the mouse literally kept running into the killers, before it repaired his glasses. Any time Dwight broke them, they would almost always repair themselves in a few hours. The same was with Claudette. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake decided to sleep as well, sitting up against the tree. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep. When he woke up, he was in Haddonfield. Fucking fantastic. Jake was laying down, not having woken up from the fog for once, and stood up. He felt odd. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was watching him, but it was quiet. Jake looked around but couldn’t spot the killer and quickly walked off to find one of his group members. He was horrified to see Meg already dead on a hook. He had slept through that? Jake realized he couldn’t feel anyone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Had he slept through the entire game? How? Jake turned around to see Michael behind him a few feet. “Was I asleep the whole time?” This had never happened before. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael didn’t reply but continued to stare, covered in blood and holding his knife at his side. Jake sighed softly. ‘How am I supposed to explain this to the group? That I fell asleep and stayed asleep during a trial!?’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer walked up to him and placed something in his hand. Jake looked down to see a bloodied screwdriver head. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“??????” Jake almost dropped it. Michael moved his hand away as Jake held the broken tool, confused. He looked up at the other for answers, to which he got none. Michael used his knife and pointed to Jake’s right, and he turned to look. He pointed at a crow. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh.” Jake realized. “No- You give it to them. They will like you more if you do.” Jake held the small metal rod out to Michael. The killer slowly grabbed it, then turned and walked to the bird. It flew away before he got even three feet towards it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Slowly. Don’t scare it off, to them you are a giant that can easily kill them.” Which was true. He guessed Michael understood him, since the man walked slower to the next bird and held out the shiny object to the bird. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It stared at him, opened mouthed, flicking its head to the side and hopping around. It wanted the shiny thing, but was skittish around the huge man. Jake could tell Michael was getting impatient. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just wait.” He told him from across the street. “If you get impatient, it will fly away and not come back.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bird took the screwdriver, and flew away while cawing excitedly at its big shiny object. Michael walked back to Jake, and he swore he felt he killer be pleased. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was still hung up as to why and how he slept through so much of the round. “G..good job. You’re getting better.” Michael was in front of him now, and felt angry. What now? Did he do something? Michael used his knife to point at Jake’s cheek, which was worse than before since David punched him again. “It’s nothing.” He shrugged, but felt the anger rising from the man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked away, towards the houses. “Are one of these yours?” Michael gripped his knife before relaxing again and walking off. He had always followed and kept an eye on Jake, so this was new. If he ran off to attempt a generator, the killer would be pissed and never do it again. Plus, he WAS trying to befriend him for everyones sake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake followed after him, towards the house in the middle of the street. That would make sense. Michael walked inside and looked back at Jake, who was looking around with a more observant eye. Every time he was in here, he was busy surviving or running, not to stare at the scenery. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was the first time he noticed picture frames though. Jake went up to the nearest one. It was dirty with dust and grime, only figures could be seen. He wiped it off with his glove to see a family of 5, a mother, father, older sister, a younger brother, and a baby. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">By logic, this was Michael’s home, which meant he was either the baby or the middle child. Common sense suggested middle child, since a baby would not remember this home. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He vaguely remembered the day Laurie told her life to them, and how her older brother killed her entire family for no reason when he was 6. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael looked 6 in this image, maybe 5. Laurie was the baby, then, but things didn’t add up. Even if Michael killed his family, he kept her alive. Plus, she was at most 1, and wouldn’t remember this. How would she know anything about Michael’s side of the story?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That didn’t mean he wasn’t a monster. He was here for a reason. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Or was it something else? Laurie had said he was put away in some facility, Jake couldn’t remember, when he was 6 and didn’t ever leave. Michael looked.. old. Older than him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh damnit he was overthinking again. Whatever. The Entity seemed to go for easy targets. Jake was already in the woods and alone, so easy. Dwight got lost in the woods, easy. He had even learned a bit of the Wraith’s past by accident, and learned he was human before and killed someone in rage. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had a sneaking suspicion the Entity found Michael, and used his emotions to twist him into something way darker. He was just speculating though, off of a photograph and things he already knew. It was sad to think that Michael probably spent his entire life in a room or building, never leaving.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was just patiently staring at Jake, who put the photograph back silently. Michael then took Jake upstairs to a room Jake had been in hundreds of times, but gave no thought. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It reminded him of an asylum room, or that of a hospital, not a normal bedroom. “Is. This your room?” ‘The room he stayed in all of his life?’ Michael faintly nodded, Jake almost missed it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wanted to ask questions, but decided against it. He didn’t like it when people pried on him, so he wouldn’t do it to others. Michael sat on the bed and stared at Jake, who was in the doorway still. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It would be hard to look at this house in the next trial, now that he knew. Did other killers have spots like this, that all survivors just ignored and never thought about? Michael set his knife down by stabbing it into the table beside the bed and looked at Jake. He wondered if there was a face behind the mask, or if the Entity removed it or something. He was human before- possibly all of them were. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity was also probably twisting their emotions to make them more aggressive and kill. Who knows. Jake walked inside the room slowly as if he was unwelcome. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">To his surprise, he saw the claws poised to attack but weren’t. Had it been that long?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why was I asleep?” He asked the Entity, pissed. No answer. “I know it was you, you demonic bitch.” He crossed his arms and walked around the claws as if they were no threat, and leaned agains the wall opposite of Michael, before glaring at the claws. “Either kill me, or fuck off.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once again, to his surprised, the claws ‘fucked off’. He did not expect this, but sighed and turned to Michael, who was very intrigued in the situation. He felt a new timer- that of 5 minutes. “Alright. Got 5 minutes to chat.” He told Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was in a sassy mood. The Entity was really messing with him lately, and he wanted to.. what did he want? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Can you believe it?” Jake said, mentioning the Entity. “It just appears in your room anytime it wants and kills me anywhere!” Jake crossed his arms. “Seriously, can you just start moriing me, so that bitch can’t kill me?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael seemed to be in agreement. He wondered if he, or the other killers, hated the Entity. “No hook. Because it hurts, and pleases it.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He pushed off the wall and sighed. It was.. oddly comforting talking to a killer, even if they never spoke. They seemed to understand one another, and he was sure Michael hated the Entity just as much as he did. “Pretty sure you don’t wanna mori me in your room so..” Jake turned on his heel and walked out, going downstairs. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael got off of the bed and grabbed his knife before following behind him, more interested in what Jake was doing than anything. He was always unpredictable. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The moment the man was outside, he suddenly sprinted down the street. Michael loved a chase, but felt he had 3 minutes to mori Jake. He went after the last survivor quickly, actually trying to kill him as fast as he could. Jake was quick though, and dodged all of his attacks. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That was, until he rounded a corner to see claws shoot from the ground at the one minute mark and stab Jake’s stomach, shoulder, legs, and head before moving to rip him apart. Bits of Jake were everywhere, and Michael could only be angry at the Entity. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You think I don’t listen</strong>?” It purred. “<strong>You two are so fun together. Keep it up</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He stabbed the ground where the Entity came up from over and over, getting blood all over him from where Jake was just moments ago. Everything would be cleaned up soon, so he didn’t mind. He just wished he had more time with Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake woke up and touched his chest. ‘That never happened before. Well, it also never gave more time..’ He sighed and got up, walking back to camp to see Dwight and David talking. Dwight looked up and instantly smiled, while David glared at him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their leader got up and went over to Jake, worried. “Are you alright? You were out for 5 days!” Only 5? There were seven killers, though they rotated randomly, Michael was most likely soon. Again. “Yes. Michael tried to mori me, but the Entity killed me right before he did.” This was true, as he had seen Michael for a moment before he died. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran a hand through his unruly hair and looked towards Dwight, sighing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Since when had he cared so deeply about him? Dwight was always worried and looking out for him now, trying to help or include him into things any chance he could. They hung out more, too. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David pushed them apart and crossed his arms. “Welcome back, Jake.” The bigger man said, through gritted teeth. “You are hardly here anymore.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Wonder why. Not as if I like being here, and keep dying more than you.’ Jake thought snappily, but pushed those feelings down quickly before the Entity could grasp onto those emotions and use them to manipulate him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked passed David, shoving the man away with his shoulder to sit down on the log. Dwight sat beside him, biting his cheek. He knew what that meant. He wanted to talk, but didn’t want to push something. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight, you can talk to me.” Jake told the other. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He pushed up his glasses and sighed. “I.. I don’t know. It’s weird.. I can’t- I don’t know.” The man stuttered out, looking confused. “I- nevermind..” Dwight shook his head. Jake didn’t ask and closed his eyes, sighing out of his nose. Meg and Claudette were absolutely going at it before David made them shoo off into the forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were a cute couple, Jake had to admit, but he favored not hearing or seeing that side of their relationship. Laurie was sitting quietly on the log across from Jake and staring at him. He had a feeling she knew something was happening between him and Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David sat down and began to talk to Dwight; Jake didn’t listen. Whatever was happening to him right now, he hoped it didn’t go downhill again. He liked being alone, yes, but on his own terms. Whatever he had right now, he liked. He was finally slightly welcome back into the camp, and he was bonding with people. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It also scared him though, because he didn’t know what the Entity was planning. Could this be a ploy? Most likely. Jake had been here, what, a decade? He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. Dwight didn’t seem to age. He guessed he looked similar. No one changed, actually. In the entire time he had been here, no one changed. Their outfits did, occasionally, but the Entity allowed them free reign to change into what they wanted. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had literally beat a claw up in rage when the Entity put him in a cowboy outfit. It was smug about it, too. He never wore it unless the Entity was really mad at him, and made him wear it. David always made fun of him when he was in it, while Dwight and others would try not to laugh / stare / be embarrassed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was revealing and.. stupid. Like the Entity had walked into a porn shop and found a “sexy cowboy” outfit and was like ‘yes, this is perfect for Jake.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was another reason he did his best not to piss the demon off. However, he was angry at it, and again, he was in a sassy mood. The next trial he was in, Jake broke a rule just to anger the God. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up in the cowboy outfit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake avoided the camp, but he knew Dwight would look for him. He also knew attempting to hide from him wouldn’t work, since the Entity would twist the forest so they would run into one another. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was the situation he was in right now. He was fiddling with his hat as Dwight tried not to laugh. “Oh come on, Jake, you look good!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut the fuck up.” Jake snapped, agitated. “It’s revealing!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s just your arms!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“IM WEARING MOTHERFUCKING BOOTY SHORTS!!” Jake yelled, blushing out of embarrassment. The Entity had found some bright red shorts and he could almost feel it watching in amusement. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was horrified and wanted to curl into a dark hole and die. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pulled the hat down to cover his face as he sat down against a tree. Dwight was blushing, and it was not out of embarrassment. He was staring at Jake’s legs that, honestly, he had never seen before. Jake looked so embarrassed, hiding under his hat. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was.. cute. He sat in front of Jake, smiling softly. Jake lifted up his hat and sighed. He hated wearing revealing things. Dwight looked at the shirt and paused, seeing a vert big and black bruise. Did he have more he didn’t know about?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake?” Dwight asked. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hm?” Jake took his hat off and set it to the side, looking at Dwight, who blushed madly. His hair, if it wasn’t a mess before, was now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘He looks good like this.’ Dwight thought, chewing on his lip. “Uhm, n-never mind.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t push it.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their next round was with Michael, but everyone was wearing strange items. Jake still had his outfit on, but now Dwight had almost similar shorts and a cut up top. He didn’t get to see anyone else before they died, but he almost laughed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was in a nurse outfit. For the first time in a while, Michael hooked him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When he woke up, he was back in his normal clothes. He wondered why the Entity did that, but didn’t question it further since it never happened again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His next trial with Michael was odd. Everyone died fast, like always, but Michael didn’t walk up to him like before. Instead, he would watch silently from afar. Jake did the generators, and managed to get enough for the door. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael was still just watching. It was his one chance to escape. He walked up to the door and stopped about 50 feet away and turned around to see Michael still staring at him from behind a tree. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed through his nose and walked to Michael. The killer stared down at him, unmoving. He had seen Jake in those shorts and the cowboy outfit, and liked it. The bruises on his face were almost gone by now, since David had not punched him in almost a week. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m not..” He sighed again. “I’m not going to leave. I want to talk to you again.” Michael stepped out and stabbed his knife into the tree, then sat down. Jake slowly sat down, too, unnerved by how fast the killer had responded. Jake liked Michael. He had done this at first to please the Entity, but now he did it to get to know the killer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Plus, neither of them talked that much. Jake was more of an action person than word, using body language to speak. It was why he was friends with the crows before, but now it was due to his perk. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered something and pulled a tiny object out of his pocket. “The crows give me shiny objects for petting them, sometimes. Here.” He held out his hand. In his palm was a silver ring, Neither Jake nor Michael could wear it it was so small, maybe for a child, but a gift none the less. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael reached out and took it from his hand slowly and inspected it. Jake flinched when Michael pat his head, but understood it was a thank-you gesture. He gave the masked man an awkward smile before entering back into their comfortable silence. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity killed him with one stab through the heart this time. Michael clenched his hand around the gift and glared at the claw. “<strong>He is interesting, isn’t he</strong>?” The Entity purred lowly and teasingly towards the killer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Don’t worry, you can have him soon</strong>.” Those words rung in Michael’s head over and over. What did that mean? What was ‘soon’ to the God? What was its plan? He looked down at the ring, and felt an emotion he never felt before. This was his first gift he had ever gotten. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael found a chain and showed the Huntress each item, then pointed to his neck. The woman laughed. “You want a necklace? Where did ja even find all’a that? I’ll need som’thin’ in return!” A silent stare. “Materials, ja idiot.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Huntress easily looped the ring to the chain and fused the metal together to form a neckless and threw it at Michael, who caught it and put it on, tucking it under his coveralls. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll expect payment soon!” She called out as he left. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake woke up standing up this time and wobbled forward, then caught himself on a tree. He heard a caw by his feet and looked down. Remmy was standing on his foot and, for a bird, looked worried. He sat down and pet the bird softly, feeling dizzy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, trying to stop the dizzying feeling. When he finally felt alright, he cooed softly to his friend, who jumped into his hair and settled down. Jake stood up and walked to camp, not minding the crow in his hair. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everyone there stared at him when he sat down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh, Jake..” Quentin said. “You have a uhm, something-“ Quentin waved his own hand above his head. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes.” Jake said as if this was the most normal thing in the world. To him, it was. Remmy would always do this when he was alone in the forest. “She likes it.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“...ah.” Quentin stared at the bird, which slowly fell asleep on Jake’s head. Dwight, Meg, Claudette, and David were gone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie stared at Jake. “I didn’t know you were friends with .. crows.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake shrugged and rested his head on his palms again, closing his eyes. He liked the presence of the bird on his head. It was always calming to him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard someone walking behind him. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"></span>
  <br/>
  <em>CLAP!</em>
  <br/>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remmy squawked in fear and flew off. Jake turned around and glared at David, who had done that and was laughing. “Oh my god!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got up. He could not deal with this right now. He stormed off into the woods. Dwight wasn’t there. Again. He had died. Jake counted his steps and sat down as far away from the camp as he could and ran a hand through his hair, sighing to himself. He could not let his hate out, or else who knows what the Entity would do to control him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had a feeling something bad would happen soon, and he would find out later he was right. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake learns many things<br/>Dwight goes through something awful<br/>Michael gets possessive</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This has mentions of Rape - Not discussed or detailed!</p><p>Dont hate David ;^;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had kept this up for another year. Doing normal trials, sacrificing himself less, avoiding David, spending time with Dwight, and hanging out with Michael during trials. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had grown really close to Dwight again, and Michael. He was still able to sit at the campfire without getting looks, but slept away from there, sometimes on Dwight’s leg. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For the past three months, Dwight started to act off and more reclusive. Jake noticed it almost immediately, but never pushed Dwight to talk. He did up his positive support towards the other though. He also noticed Dwight would actively avoid the camp sometimes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He came back from a trial to see his friend hugging his legs, glasses to the side, and was crying into his knees. That was the last straw for Jake, and he was going to figure out what was happening with his friend. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sat beside him and pulled him into an awkward hug, and Dwight sobbed loudly. He pat his back as the other cried into his jacket for an hour, slowly calming down in that time. He was reduced to occasional sniffles and looked more tired than Quentin. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pat his head softly and looked down at him. He was shaking, eyes puffy and red. God, he was a mess. What happened? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you want to talk about it?” Jake said softly, as if he was talking to a scared bunny that would run away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight shook his head. “..d-don’t wanna be alone.” He rasped out. Jake nodded and took his jacket off, sliding it around Dwight and letting the man lean against him to sleep. Jake watched Dwight as he slept, still shaking and scared. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had seen the man scream and die hundreds of thousands of times, terrified beyond belief at hell itself, but something new, and worse, had sent him into a sobbing mess. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake could only assume it was the Entity. He kept his hand firmly around Dwight, holding him up. Jake really could not do much else than stare at him, or the woods he had stared at for a decade. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He tried to figure out what Dwight was thinking, staring at his face. He noticed a tear and wiped it away with his thumb, growing angry. He wanted to kill whatever hurt his friend like this. When he touched Dwight’s face, the man flinched and shivered. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shh.” He said, trying to calm down his friend. He wanted to see Dwight smile and be positive again, like he always was as a leader. Was his role getting to him, with stress? It could be anything. He heard another survivor walking around in the woods, and pulled Dwight closer to him in a more protective way. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then he saw David, and they locked eyes. Then he saw the rage build up at the sight of Jake holding Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“W-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shh!” Jake whispered at him, glaring. He didn’t care if he got beat up later for it, Dwight needed sleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David looked at Dwight, then to him. “I will carry him to the campfire.” It was a command. Jake felt a very odd vibe from David, like something was very wrong about him. “No.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was upset to practically see his eyes darken. The Entity was controlling David almost 100%, wasn’t it? “Dwight needs sleep. I’ll get him to the campfire when he wakes up.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David growled and walked off. What was the Entity planning? He wanted to help David, but had no clue how. It seems when the Entity let go of the others, it latched onto David. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was David its next target, if Jake didn’t keep it happy? He sighed and pet Dwight’s head softly, who whimpered. It made his heart squeeze. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake made sure to keep a very close eye on Dwight anytime he could. They were in the next trial together, with David and Quentin. Jake went out of his way to find Dwight, who was still very shaken up. Jake took his hand and guided him through the map to generators. Dwight would keep look out while Jake did them, since he was too shaken to correctly do one. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They managed to do three when they ran into David. Dwight hid behind Jake and Jake, wanting to avoid David like always, quickly walked off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t leave, ya fuck ‘ead!” David hissed. Jake didn’t know what it was like to have a mental breakdown, which was most likely what Dwight had, but he knew dealing with arguments were not good. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Go do a damn genny, we’ve done 3!” Jake called back. Dwight gripped Jake’s jacket, still not saying a word. He hadn’t since before he went to sleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wanna talk ta’ Dwight! ‘Aven’t had the chance.” David hummed, walking up to Jake, who put an arm out in front of Dwight. “David, your not yourself. The Entity is way deep in you controlling your emotions. Snap out of it.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David glared at him and grabbed his scarf, throwing him away. “Leave. I am talkin’ ta Dwight.” Dwight was speechless and backed away from David. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He glared at the bigger man, who went up to Dwight. Jake had never purposefully killed another survivor, but this was too much. He had a feeling the Entity was feeding him these murderous intentions, but he couldn’t give less of a shit when seeing Dwight cry again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran out, finding and luring the killer, Huntress, towards David. He was horrified to see David pinning Dwight against a tree and kissing him, who was sobbing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Huntress saw this, too, and targeted David. Jake grabbed Dwight and ran away from the killer, not looking back. He found a locker and put Dwight in there, knowing the man felt most safe in the lockers. “I’ll finish the last generator and come back here.” He told Dwight and left, finding one of the last generators nearby. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt David get moried as he began to work on the generator. He finished it right as the Huntress found him. Jake crawled backwards and looked up at her. “Wait- wait! Please- can I make a deal with you?” Jake said as he backed away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For once, a killer seemed to listen. Jake was terrified but didn’t waste his chance. “L-let me get my friend out, and next t-time we are put together I will let you kill me first thing. I don’t want to win this one. I just want my friend to.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was even more shocked when she put her hatchet to her side. She was a very, very big woman. Jake slowly stood up, looking at her unsure. He wondered if she knew Dwight was really not well. Quentin had been hooked earlier, so it was just him and Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘..I hope she doesn’t kill us both.’ Jake walked towards the locker, making sure she could see him at all times. It was terrifying with his heartbeat hammering the entire time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He held up his hand to her to stop her and went to the locker, gently knocking on it. ‘I’m probably using up all of my luck for a month or two with this and not dying by the killer right now..’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight’s muffled sob came through. He crouched down and slowly opened the door. “Dwight? Hey- listen.” Dwight had taken off his glasses and was crying. “I uhm, made a deal with Huntress to get you out of here but she has to kill me ok?” He grabbed Dwight’s hand and helped him out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t even seem to understand. “Will you be alright without me for a few days?” The man was a shaking mess. Jesus fuck, what the fuck happened to make him like this? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“...” Jake sighed and looked up towards Huntress, who was walking closer. “Is there anything I can to do get out of this trial alive?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Russian woman actually hummed. He rarely heard any killers make a noise. And then she spoke. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Scraps.” Her voice was very powerful. “Trinkets. Anything of the sort.” She seemed to like deals, and made them a lot. Dwight was shaking like a leaf in front of him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake saw the smallest hint of worry in her eyes. He wondered if she understood what happened- most likely, though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright. I’ll get you anything I can, but it will be hard since I don’t know when the next time I’ll have you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do not worry. If you fail, I will make sure you regret it.” Her accent was thick. Jake nodded. “I understand.” ‘What am I doing, making deals with Killers now? Next thing you know I’ll be dancing with them.’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grabbed Dwight’s hand and squeezed softly. He looked out of it. “Come on. It’s ok.” He guided Dwight to the door and pulled the lever, all the wile The Huntress watched. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake turned around and smiled at her wearily. “Thank you.” He still had his end of the deal to keep up. He could also tell the Entity was watching with serious interest. Jake helped Dwight back to safety, but didn’t go to the campfire. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He set Dwight down first and sat beside him. Jake was so worried. “Dwight..? Please talk to me.” He didn’t like prying, but this was too much. For once, the man looked up at him. “Dwi-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“D-david..” He teared up instantly. It was David? Was it the thing from earlier, or was this the cause of the months of Dwight’s sadness?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He.. I t-told him I didn’t..” Jake did not like where this was going, at all. Dwight could hardly speak, his throat felt constricted like he was being choked. “He s-said he loved me.. I didn’t-“ Dwight choked out a sob, and Jake pulled him close to him. “I don’t l-love him.. He started to.. to yell at me. I-i swear i-it wasn’t him..”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was the Entity then, or somehow? He didn’t know how it worked, but people were not themselves when they were being controlled. “He..” Dwight went cold, staring at the ground. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You don’t have to tell me.” Jake said, slowly rubbing his back to relax the other. He blood ran cold, though. “He raped me.” Dwight said under his breath. Jake stopped. He probably stopped breathing. He was going to kick the Entities ass. And David’s. He was going to kill David though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pulled Dwight closer to him and hugged him. “You.. I’m so sorry. Dwight..” He couldn’t help but tear up himself. God, when did he become such a weenie? “I’m here for you-“ Jake kissed his forehead “-you’re my best friend. I will do my best to survive from now on.” He had a reason to live, and that was to protect Dwight from the Entity driven David. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“David is being heavily controlled by the Entity..” He didn’t want to make what happened seem like it was nothing, but Dwight got the idea David probably would not have done it himself. “I.. I just want to sleep.” Dwight’s voice held no emotion. Jake slowly rubbed his back again and nodded. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slowly took his glasses off as Dwight fell asleep on him once more. How did Dwight snap out of the control of the Entity? Was he too far gone? Jake heard someone walking up once again, and his body was ready to fight if it was David. Instead, he saw short blond hair and relaxed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Laurie.” He said softly and glanced at Dwight, signaling to her he was asleep and to be quiet. She nodded and sat down in front of him. “I noticed he has been.. off. So has David. Have you noticed?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had always been the observant and powerful type, teaching them how to attack killers and all. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. yes. Dwight is.. he’s ok. But.. David is being controlled by the Entity. I think we all are, in a way, but David the most.” Laurie stared at him, before slowly nodding. “I think so too. I knew him before. He .. is a lot more aggressive and emotionless, like a killer.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight managed to snap out of his hold.. we need to save David, but I don’t know how. He hates me the most. Quentin could.. they seem close.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie nodded in agreement and looked at Dwight, trying to figure out what happened to him. He slid his jacket off and wrapped it around Dwight like before, the man using his shoulder as a pillow. He nuzzled into his neck and Jake blushed, quickly looking away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, if you need any help, please come to me.” Laurie told him, knowing Dwight needed space. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Actually, yes.. I need scraps. Lots of it. Also, if I’m not in a trial with Dwight.. can you watch him, please? He is very out of it.. can hardly get a genny done.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie nodded. “Thank you.” She left quietly, and Jake looked down at Dwight. He had gone through something way worse than being hunted to death, though they were used to it. He pushed some hair away from his face and sighed softly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their next trial was with Michael, and he was with Dwight, Meg, and Quentin. Jake quickly went to find Michael, easily finding him stalking Meg. “Michael.” He whispered from around the corner. Michael was curious, and went over. “Do not kill Dwight.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael gave a small head tilt. Ugh, did he not know names? Most likely not, since they hardly spoke in trials, let alone their names. “The male in glasses. Don’t kill him. If you do I’ll- uh..” What could he do? “I will not talk to you and avoid you for 3 months.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He liked Michael since he never asked questions, and took this without any problems. Michael was a fast murderer. Jake searched for Dwight, finding him in a locker outside. He sat beside him, worried. How long would he be like this? Would he ever be ok? Jake couldn’t do this with the other killers.. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight tensed when he heard Michael coming near. Jake hated it, but he had to let Meg and Quentin die. He had to escape this round too. Or, would he die with Dwight, and pop out at the same day? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey- its ok.” He spoke quietly. Dwight was staring at Michael, scared. “I’ve been friends with him over a year.. he wont kill you, but the timer will.” Dwight seemed to relax at that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael sat down on the ground like he was used to every time Jake and him did this. He felt awful for Dwight, and held his hand, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles in a calming way. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The leader still had not said a word. “Do you want to be alone?” Dwight pulled his knees up to his chest, softly nodding. Jake let go of his hand and closed the locker, looking at Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uhm, I have to find scraps.. for someone...” Jake mumbled and got up. Michael looked slightly.. happy? He pointed to himself. “You have scraps?” A small head shake. Jake didn’t understand and went to each chest on the map, grabbing anything he could find for The Huntress. Michael took some as well. Oh. He wanted scraps too. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He found so much, since he had free reign over the entire map. Jake was lucky enough to find a backpack and stuffed as much as he could into it, giving the rest to Michael. This should be enough for the Huntress for the deal, along with his easy death. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael WAS happy. He didn’t have to go through the effort of explaining to Jake without words he wanted scrap metals and such. Jake had about 8 minutes left, and walked back over to Dwight’s locked and sat down with the heavy backpack. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael followed and sat in front of him once more. He pointed to the locker, finally asking Jake ‘why?’</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Long story. Full of emotion. Sure you don’t care about that? Dwight’s my only friend- next to you- and.. is just not doing well right now.” Michael seemed confused. “Like when you get sick. But he has to constantly move and survive.” The Killer seemed to understand this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran a hand through his hair, looking at Michael before noticing his new necklace. “What’s that?” The bigger man set down the knife and pulled it out, showing Jake’s ring on the chain he found earlier. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He could see Jake’s blush as he grew slightly flustered. “O-oh. I’m glad you like it.” Jake heard the locker door crack open and slowly reveal Dwight, who was looking at Michael in fear. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael didn’t give off any vibes until Dwight sat beside Jake. ‘Oh right.. Michael is obsessive and possessive.’ He had forgotten this obvious part of Michael somehow, and looked at the killer. “So, why do you want scraps?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael seemed to snap away from his rage and jealousy towards Dwight, and pointed at the necklace. Someone must have fixed it for him, and he owed them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Wait. No way. “The Huntress?” A small nod. “I owe her too.. That’s weird.” Jake looked at Dwight, who was still staring at Michael. Jake squeezed his shoulder gently, trying to reassure him. Dwight looked up at Jake and cried again. He had been caught up in his emotions so long, and was out of his mind that he hardly realized what was going around him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had went far out of his way to make sure Dwight was as safe as possible, even bribing a killer, and stopping the other. He cried, because in that moment he realized he loved Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He Asian-American looked at him worried and quickly wiped his tears away. ‘Why is he crying?’ Dwight leaned against Jake’s shoulder and closed his eyes, relaxing as Jake helped him. ‘.. how long have I loved him?’ This wasn’t a new feeling. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael stared at the two and felt anger and jealousy boil. Jake was his, and his alone. Seeing that other survivor so close to Jake made him feel murderous. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But he had promised Jake not to kill him. So he wouldn’t. Their time was up, and the claws appeared, but were slow to kill. The Entity really had not expected Michael to not kill two. It should have angered him, but it was entertainment that it wanted to see where it went. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake smiled at Michael when the claw plunged into his heart. He hated this part, because Jake’s body would stay for a few minutes afterwards. Michael pulled his body away from Dwight’s and held the cooling body close to him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">These few moments were the only times he let himself touch Jake, since any other time he would still flinch or be uncomfortable. He just hoped one day he could willingly touch his hair. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sat up when he woke up. He instantly ran to the campfire, looking around for Dwight. He entered the light and saw Claudette and Laurie comforting Dwight. He must have been a day or two late. David, Quentin, and Meg were gone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight’s eyes snapped up to Jake, and he teared up, getting up and hugging him tightly. Jake slowly and awkwardly wrapped his arms around him, not used to hugs. “How.. how long?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Two..” Dwight said quietly, shaking. Jake rubbed his back and looked at the two women, who sadly smiled at Jake. Laurie gave him a knowing look. Did Dwight tell them? “Do you want to go into the woods?” A slow head shake. Jake guided him and sat between Laurie and Claudette so Dwight felt more safe. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He couldn’t imagine what feelings Dwight must of had, before durning and after it. Jake held the man in his lap carefully, but it was awkward as they were both around the same size. Dwight was sideways, his feet on the ground beside Jake’s leg while the rest of him was leaning against his chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight almost instantly fell asleep on him. Jake sighed softly and looked towards the women. “Can you fill me in?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They nodded, and Claudette spoke up first. “Dwight didn’t come back for two days, but he was just in the forest. Me ‘nd Meg went lookin’ and found him curled into a ball by a bush. That isn’t normal for him! We noticed he had been off even before then, but seein’ this..” She trailed off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie continued. “They brought him back here and he had a panic attack, asking for you, so me, Meg, and Claudette went to go comfort him. He just kept asking for you, but knew it may be a few days. I told them it was a bit much for all of us to swarm him like that, so I decided to stay and they hung back. Dwight..” Laurie gripped her hands, anger boiling up at her next words. “He didn’t tell me outright.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded. “Don’t be mad at David. I’m positive the Entity is messing with his head completely, and I don’t know why.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Still.” She said, pissed. “I asked Dwight if I could tell Meg and Claudette, and he nodded. We kicked David out of the camp fire. Quentin doesn’t know yet, but he knows David really hurt him.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake rubbed Dwight’s back and sighed softly. Claudette and Laurie shared a look. Claudette decided to ask before Laurie. “Do you love him?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was taken aback, but didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t keen on telling others his feelings, but the fact he didn’t say no had to mean something. “I.. I will have to think on that.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He realized that he did, in fact, love Dwight, but another part of him told him he didn’t, and that he was just a best friend. He did love Dwight, but wanted to stay friends, at least for now. He hadn’t had any relationships before, but also.. if it didn’t work out they still had to interact day in and day out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For some reason he thought of Michael. Jake’s emotions and thoughts were long jumbled up. Ever since Dwight snapped out of the Entity’s grip, everything was confusing. Jake closed his eyes and sighed softly. “You two should rest.” He knew they probably spent the better part of two days taking care of Dwight, who did seem to be gradually getting better. That was good. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The next trials, he, Meg, Laurie, and Claudette helped Dwight. Over the next 5 games, he gradually got better and even smiled to Jake once. He took that as a good sign, but ever since he sorted out his feelings for Dwight, he found himself staring at him more often. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He would never admit it, but he liked it when Dwight slept on him. It felt nice, in a sense, to know someone else trusted him enough to sleep on him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake, per his promise, had carried the backpack with him to all trials until he found the Huntress. He had to snap her out of her murderous rage for a moment. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait! Shit, dude! I got your scraps.” She bad been charging at him, almost slashing. Jake took off the backpack and handed it to her. “Is that enough?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“More than.” She said, satisfied. “Alright.” Jake nodded. “Thank you.” And she killed him, to which he didn’t fight back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His next trial was with Michael. After they became friends, the Entity always paired Jake with him. He had always been sent into Michael’s trials, even if he did 6 in a row (somehow surviving all of them, but it happened rarely!). </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had been avoiding David. Everyone had been. David seemed to have calmed down a bit from the Entity’s hold, but it would be close to a year before he could be himself again at this rate. He was in a trial with David, Quentin, and Laurie. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was relieved to see Dwight not chosen, mainly because he didn’t think he could tell Michael not to kill him this time. The Killer went after David first, and the man was dead before a minute passed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Wow. He was really wanting to spend time with Jake. Must have been Dwight last time, since they hardly talked, just looking for scraps most of that trial. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He quickly apologized to Laurie and Meg, who knew about the situation months ago. Not that he was friends with him, but that Michael kept him alive until the timer ran out. Laurie looked sorry for him, but said nothing. She wasn’t that much of a talker compared to the others. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked to Michael’s house and sat on his bed. An actual bed. God, it would be amazing to sleep on a bed. It had been, what, 11 or 12 years? Something around then, he guessed. Jake laid down on it and waited. He kept waiting but never heard Michael walk up the stairs. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up who knows how long later to Michael staring at him from inches away. Jake sat up and stared at him. “U-uh.. sorry. It was really comfortable.” He quickly explained to the killer, who seemed amused, if anything. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake moved over so Michael could sit on the bed. He wasn’t exactly scared of the man anymore, but it was still scary to see him that close. “Thank you for not killing Dwight. It means a lot to me.” It probably took Michael all of his self will not to stab the upset man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer didn’t react, but instead stared blankly at a wall. “Do you feel it too?” Jake asked. Michael slowly turned towards him and nodded. “Something feels bad. Like .. like the Entity is bored. Even though I keep doing anything I can to keep it happy!” He hadn’t realized it before, but he had that same bad feeling when he gave up and didn’t move back when it was just him and Trapper, and again when the Trials first started, but he wasn’t sick this time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m...” Jake gripped the sheets. “I am scared.” He admitted. God. He felt like a preteen girl at a sleepover spilling his guts. “Before this, the Entity made sure I felt no happiness. Then Dwight snapped out of it.. and you became my friend. I’m happy, but I feel like that will make things worse. I’m scared of losing you two again.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael reached over and grabbed Jake’s hand and squeezed it. Holy. Fuck. His hand was so big. It was oddly comforting though. “.. it can control us so easily.” Jake was also scared the Entity had an effect on him, too. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then, something unbelievable happened. Michael pulled him close for an awkward sideways hug. He grew tense before relaxing and sighing, leaning against the bigger man and allowing the hug to happen. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did need it. “Thanks.” He said under his breath. Michael squeezed his shoulder almost painfully, but trying to he gentle. Jake couldn’t stop himself from accidentally falling asleep in Haddonfield, on the bed, and leaning against Michael. He was pretty sure the Entity was making him feel drowsy, but he couldn’t fight it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael noticed the man hadn’t moved in a while and looked down to see if he was dead. To his slight surprise, Jake was asleep. On him. He wrapped his arm around Jake’s middle and kept him close to him. He had willingly done this- and something deep inside was happy. Something primal. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw the claws coming from the ceiling, watching curiously as the survivor slept on the killer. What an interesting sight to behold. The Entity allowed Michael 30 minutes. He stared at a sleeping Jake the entire time, and held him as he died by the claw. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael had realized in that time that he never wanted to be away from Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Asian-American woke up slowly and rubbed his eyes. God, how long was he out this time? He blushed, remembering he fell asleep. On Michael. How embarrassing. Jake got up and walked to camp, sitting next to Dwight who was almost back to his normal self. “How long?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“One day!” That was... rare. Odd. Even for something that should have entertained the Entity. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had a bad feeling though, that something was going to happen soon, and that it would not be good. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. To Be</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake changes</p><p>Warning: Graphic (Blood and torture) and Sadness</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake could never shake this feeling off. It lingered in the back of his mind, like the Entity was toying with him. Which it most likely was. Dwight was getting better, almost back to his old self until he would see David. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David was slowly coming to, but they still didn’t talk to him or let him into the camp. Jake felt awful, since he himself had been shunted, but Dwight can not handle his composure when David was around. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They could see the darkness in David’s eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was still scared to allow himself to be happy like this. He knew the Entity was planning something - was that the lingering feeling? Telling him to enjoy it while it lasts?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked at Dwight, who was talking happily to Quentin and Meg. David and Laurie were dead at the moment, and Claudette went for a small walk. Jake guessed it was to look for Laurie. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at his.. crush? He worked out his feelings, but he still had to come to terms with them. Alright.. why did he like Dwight?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His brain instantly fired back a million reasons why. Dwight had been there for him at his lowest (when he alone in the forest for two and a half years). He had understood Jake’s need and social meter, even when it was just them two. He understood Jake needed space even when he himself didn’t want to be alone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had sacrificed himself many times for him when he was under the Entity’s control (Everyone eventually sacrifices themselves for people, but no one except Dwight did for Jake when they were under its control).His smile was cute. So was his laugh. He looked like a nerd or dork, with those glasses and a shirt that looked like it belonged in an office setting. In a way, it was kind of hot. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Hot??? Jake smacked himself hard and got up, leaving to go into the woods suddenly. He didn’t go into them without Dwight anymore, but he needed space. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘Stupid brain.’ Jake thought. He had went from listing his traits, to his appearance. What was wrong with him? He ran a hand through his hair again and sighed. ‘I’ll worry about this later, when I’m alone.’ Since he guessed the Entity would make them hate them again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Which reminded Jake that they still needed to find a way to get Dwight not to hate him when he was under the control again. He walked back to camp and sat down, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He still had to accept his emotions for Dwight. The man most likely did not love him (who would?), so if he confessed it would be stupid, BUT he would get it out while Dwight liked him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course the person he was thinking about sat beside him and looked at him worriedly. Jake stared back at Dwight, biting his tongue. He was worried about him, and was looking at him with big eyes. How could a man be so adorable?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake? Are you ok?” The other asked, hand twitching. “.. yeah.” Jake sighed through his nose. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. I want to tell you something. In the woods.” Jake nodded and slowly got up. He mentally prepared himself for if Dwight confessed to him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t get his hopes up at all though. It was just a silent wish. Dwight took about 60 steps away and looked at the ground. “A.. a long time ago, I went into the woods. I just wanted to walk, or I wanted to find you or something, but- I found something else.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake realized he paused to get his reaction. He nodded, wanting Dwight to continue. “I found our old forest.” And he wanted to die. Did he see THAT? When Jake completely gave up?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“... I.. The Entity knew I was there. It punished me for finding it.” Dwight went quiet. “Everything wasn’t real, though! Like a hazy memory.. I couldn’t talk to you- or memory you?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. Jake did not like where this was going at all. “It must have stopped time or something.. because I relived every day you did for two years.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. Jake tensed up. Dwight had seen the worst of him. He had cried, ran for his life, gave up.. everything? He just saw that?? “When I got b-back, time hadn’t moved here at all. But it snapped me out of the Entity’s hold.. or I did myself.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered that day. It had been so random, so out of left field when Dwight started to care about him. He realized why it was a slow pace, though. He had only seen and been unable to react to “Jake” for two years. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Wait. “You were also alone for two years.” Jake decided to make a joke to lighten the mood. “Does that mean you’ve been here longer now, or me?” Dwight cracked a smile. “We are exactly even.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake smiled back but it was gone soon after. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know. A while ago, too, I think after you?, I found it as well and just saw the part I.. what caused all of this.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It isn’t your fault.” Dwight suddenly hugged him. “If it was me I would have done that the first month in.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded, tensing up once more due to the hug. He really had to get used to contact, since Dwight and Michael both seemed to like to touch him. “But it is my fault. If I hadn’t, then you and everyone else wouldn’t be suffering in this hell.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight pulled away to stare at him. “That’s true, but who knows? What if the Entity always planned to get more until you got boring?” Jake had never thought of this. “.. I..” He looked away, avoiding Dwight. “I guess..” Why was he always able to make Jake feel better?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But the Entity still wants me to suffer.. and you and Michael really make me happy. It’s going to target the both of you, and I’ll be alone again.” Jake couldn’t help but have a shakey breath. He tried to hide his sorrow, but Dwight easily picked up on it. “Unless it makes me forget everything about you, I can’t hate you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake blushed and hid the lower part of his face in his scarf to hide it as he still did not make eye contact. Dwight chuckled and hugged him again, finally getting something heavy off of his chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt the pull of a trial and gave him a small smile before he found himself in Haddonfield. He sees each killer equally, but in different, sporadic orders, except Michael. He saw Michael the most. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got up. New plan, starting today. Do anything to get everyone to survive, and stay behind. He ran to the nearest generator and worked on it as fast as he could. Michael seemed to be somewhere else, chasing someone. The fact the one minute mark passed and he hadn’t killed someone was almost new. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finished this generator and smirked. One down. Jake got up and ran to the next one. It would be a waste of time to sabotage his hooks or search for supplies, so he focused solely on generators. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake finished 3 by the time two people had been hooked, but saved. The doors were open now, since the others focused on their own ones. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He ran to the closest door, thinking how odd it was to not see Michael yet. He opened the door, but walked back deeper in the map, happy that his friends escaped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then he saw a very pissed Michael coming at him and he swore he was about to die. The killer picked him up and stared blankly at him, but he knew he was pissed. “What? Michael no one has been able to win against you for how long?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He set Jake down, staring down at him without moving. “No, I am not leaving. Well, unless you want me to! Or when the timer goes off I can slip through the door.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael grabbed his wrist- <em>holyshititwrappedaroundhiswholearmsoeasily</em>- and yanked him towards his house. He was angry. Jake would do his best to make him happy again, if killers even got happy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer let go of him when they were in his room, and sat on the bed, gripping his knife hard, as though he was contemplating killing him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked over and sat beside him on the bed. Michael moved closer to him, stabbing the knife into the table beside the bed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If.. the Entity makes you hate me again.. will we still be friends?” Jake asked, looking up at the masked person. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He got no reply. So Michael didn’t know.. “I like what we have. I don’t want to lose it.” Michael reached over and grabbed his hand, then squeezed. He showed Jake his necklace again, as if saying ‘i will see this and remember you.’ Or, that’s what Jake guessed Michael was telling him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was forced to intertwine his fingers with him, since his hand was so big. He looked down at it and stared. ‘.. does he like holding my hand, or something?’ Jake had no complaints though, which was strange. He <em>liked </em>this. He liked Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh, goddamnit. There was no way in hell (you’re in hell, so yes) that he loved a killer. No. Shit. But it made sense- fuck! Why were his feelings like this? Before, he had them all sorted out and under control, but now all of his emotions were like loose butterflies and he had a tiny net. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">How and the fuck did he love Michael? Jake quickly tried to think about anything else before his brain could list every reason why, but it was too late. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though Michael was not like Dwight in almost any sense, and was a killer who murdered his friends over and over, it was a strange feeling to be special to him. Michael never really hurt him on purpose, and seemed to enjoy every moment he had with Jake, since it wasn’t a lot. He listened and reacted when needed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake found himself thinking about Michael a lot of the time - even away from their trials. Michael squeezed his hand again, and Jake looked up at him. Great. He had not one, but two crushes. Jake wanted to kick himself. How old was he? Did he even consider years year to ‘age’? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How old are you?” He blurted out to Michael. Jake quickly looked away, embarrassed. He really hated himself right now for all the embarrassing things he had been doing lately. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer gave no reply. “I think I’m 23.. or 34, depending on how time works here. I don’t think people age.” He felt old. If he was 34, then damn. He guessed Michael was like, 70? Laurie said she entered in at an old age, he forgot the exact number, but his build was that of a 30 or so year old. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake gripped his hand. “Do you think we will ever escape this hell?” No reply, of course. ‘.. I should talk to the others and get to know them... since may be here forever.’ Michael nodded and ran his hand over Jake’s knuckles slowly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why was this so weird? Michael, a silent brick wall of a killer, giving him affection? It was extremely weird but he liked it. He felt time ticking down to its last minute. “Should I escape?” He asked Michael, mainly for permission. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The last time they tried to mori before Entity, it didn’t end well. Michael nodded and got up, dragging Jake out. He almost tripped and fell from how sudden the bigger man moved. Jake had to run to keep up with him, and ran into Michael when he suddenly stopped. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What was up with him? Jake moved away, and Michael dropped his hand. He looked up at Michael and smiled a bit. The killer stared down at him, unmoving, before holding something out and dropping it into the survival’s hand and shoving him out of the door right when the last second went off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake tripped, again, and looked back to see Michael staring at him, before the trial vanished. He began to walk back to the loop, looking at the thing in his hand. Jake blushed madly. It was a silver ring- but this one was bigger than Michael’s. He slipped it onto his finger, and to his surprise, it fit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had never gotten any real gifts from people, before in real life or here. Though, no one gave gifts, so that wasn’t a standard. Jake just hoped the Entity would allow him to keep it, which was a most likely since Michael still had his. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘I could put it in my box..’ Jake remembered his box that he hid, full of gifts his crow friends gave him sometimes. ‘But I want to wear it.’ He rubbed it with his left hand, having put it on his right ring finger. Jake went back to the camp, deciding not to go to his box of trinkets. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw everyone laughing and celebrating, having finally won against Michael. It felt off without David, the real him, here, but they could not do anything about that for the moment. Not until they figured out how to help him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sat beside Dwight, and listened to everyone talk and joke about things. He actually paid full attention this time, and learned a lot from them. Why hadn’t he done this earlier? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So Trinity was like ‘dude I don’t know!’, and I cheered her on and she jumped, making the biggest wave in the pool!” Quentin said happily, talking about his school life, probably. Jake smiled. He was really enjoying himself. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was weird to have everyone stare at him with bewilderment. “Uh..” “You smiled! Holy shit!” Meg said. “I’ve never seen you smile!!” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Did he really not smile that much? Jake kept up his calm demeanor. “Oh.” He replied. Could he really tell them everything? He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Dwight knew he wanted to talk about something when he did that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake?” His voice had worry in it. Great. “Hm?” He looked at Dwight. “Do you want to talk?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“... not.. exactly..?” Jake looked away, still noticing everyone was watching. “Fine, fine!” He held up his hands defensively, knowing the entire group would pester him about it later. “I just..” Jake inhaled. “I wanted to actually talk for once. I realized that I really don’t know you guys and you don’t know me.” He shrugged. “So..”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The silence was awkward. “I’m Jake Park, 23 or 34, Live in the woods of Illinois, and I’ve been here 11 years.” This did not help the awkwardness. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie stared at him in shock. “11 years?” They all knew he had been here longer, but not that long. She coughed, no one wanting to give up a willing-to-talk-Jake. Quentin had a million questions and raised his hand as if he was in school. Jake stared at him. “Yes you can ask questions.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was a sparkle in his eyes and Jake regretted this already. “Did you live in the woods? Willingly?” He nodded. “Yes. For a few years.” Quentin stood up and sat beside him. Jake scooted away and bumped into Dwight. This was going to be fun. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everyone asked him questions all night long, and he answered truthfully. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Did you date anyone?” Claudette asked. “Actually, once, now that I remember.” He put a finger on his chin. “Met him in college but figured out he was just after my money.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A he???? Are you gay?” Meg asked, visibly getting excited. “Y-yes? Did I not tell anyone?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“NO!” She screamed. “You’ve never told us anything really!! Oh my god, you’re gay!!” Jake wanted to die. Meg was literally standing on the log and dancing. “Helllll yes!” Jake glanced at Dwight, who was blushing. Why was he blushing? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake took that as his last question for the night and laid down behind the log, closing his eyes but unable to fall asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Many reasons why, actually. He had willingly let everyone ask questions and pry into him, and also because he felt sick. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh, shit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sat up and locked eyes with Dwight, Meg, and Claudette, who all knew this feeling from years ago. Quentin and Laurie looked confused. “What’s- uh. What’s going on?” Quentin asked. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck fuck <em>fuck not again</em>.” Dwight mummered and teared up. A million thoughts were going through his head. Was he about to forget Jake? Was he about to hurt him again?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie looked worried now, and looked at Jake for answers, who stood up by now. “Stay awake- shit.” He almost puked. David suddenly appeared, worried. “What the fuck is goin’ on!?” Everyone looked at him. He was.. he was fine. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then, the camp fire turned black. Quentin threw up. For everyone except for Jake and Dwight, this was the first time they would see the Entity. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And their heads were full from it’s awful laughter. Everyone grabbed their heads in pain. Jake couldn’t form a single thought. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I am bored</strong>.” It hissed. “<strong>Of the same game over and over again</strong>.” Jake had feared this day would happen. Shit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>So, I want to shake things up</strong>..” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why was it telling them this? It could not be good. The Entity always changed things without telling them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Decide between the 7 of you who will die permanently</strong>.” It spoke with a purr, clearly soaking up their horrified emotions. Jake’s blood ran cold. One of them wouldn’t be here. They would die for real. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That.. was a new thought. To die for real. None of them were scared of dying, but this was a whole new field of game. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake slowly opened his eyes despite the tears running down his face from the pain and looked around. Everyone was crying and screaming in pain, but he couldn’t hear them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damnit. Fuck. Where even were they? He couldn’t see his surroundings, but they were not at the camp. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fucking <em>STOP</em>!” Jake screamed at it, the pain suddenly jolting up in degree. It felt like he was being electrocuted and drowning all at once. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then, it stopped. Everyone was crying, and he shakily got up first, used to pain from his iron will. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He knew the Entity knew he would do it. Jake pushed off of his leg and looked forward. They were in a white void, with white fog around them, like a strange heaven of sorts. There were claws in front of him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t want to think what he was about to lose. He didn’t want to die, but couldn’t live if anyone else, even David, died. He also knew that the Entity would make this a very painful death. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dont-“ Dwight rasped out, now sitting up. “Jake!” No- he couldn’t. He could not turn back. Everyone was regaining their senses by now and realizing Jake was a few feet away from them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Interesting</strong>.” The Entity purred through everyones heads, the claws twitching. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Change of plans</strong>.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before Jake could react, two claws picked him up a few feet from the ground and stabbed his stomach. This was nothing like the killers, or even the hooks pain. This was dying pain, without dying. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p>
  <span class="s1">Jake coughed up blood and cried out, unable to think about anything other than that he <em>hurt</em> and <em>badly</em>. The Entity dropped him, and a bigger claw in the shape of a scythe appeared. He couldn’t even open his eyes to see what was going on, before pain shot up and through his body, even worse than when he was first brought here. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everyone watched in horror as Jake got mutilated. His blood pooled and dotted the white floor. Laurie got up and tried to run to him, but there was an invisible field around him by a few feet. “<em>JAKE</em>!” Someone- maybe even Laurie- screamed out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then, the Entity had sliced his leg clean off effortlessly. Quentin was facing away, sobbing uncontrollably while everyone else watched in horrifying silence. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity began to shove strange shards into Jake. If his screams weren’t loud before, they were now. They could hear it laughing uncontrollably, knowing it was completely enjoying this torture as they could do <em>nothing</em> for Jake. He never screamed before in pain until today. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It seemed to be hours of hearing him scream, but something else was happening they couldn’t see. The Entity spoke up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Enjoy your new Jake</strong>.” It snickered, and a shockwave happened. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Laurie recovered first and looked around. Getting up, she noticed that she was back at the camp with everyone, where they all were before, but now Jakeless. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“T-tell.. me I’m d-dreaming..” Dwight sobbed out, having no tears left to give, though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">David was silent, having just returned and seeing that? He had no clue what was going on. Quentin was just staring at the ground, tears going down his face. “Where is.. is Jake?” They didn’t hear any screams, just silence. If Jake was back in here, he would be screaming. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. the.. the Entity may have kept him.. knowing how long it takes it.. could be a month until he comes back.” Claudette said softly but firmly, trying to keep everyone calm. They did know whenever they pleased the Entity, they were gone longer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight, Laurie, Quentin, and Claudette were all pulled into a trial before they could realize it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight just wanted to die. He opened his eyes and choked on air. He was- he was back in the old forest. Dwight got up quickly and looked around, finding every tree he and Jake had marked with the same engravings. This wasn’t his forest though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard screaming. Jake was here. Dwight ran to where the sound was, but froze. Jake was in the middle of this new map, but it wasn’t Jake. Not <em>his</em> Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This Jake wore a crow skull, looked more raggedy, had a black crow leg, and crow tail. Dwight felt his heart drop. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Entity had made him a killer? He could see the shards in him still, poking out of his clothes. He was gripping his head and crying out in pain, either from the recent torture, or fighting the urge to kill. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight saw Claudette run up to him. He followed suit and went over to Jake, but stayed a few feet back. The man was shaking hard, and he could not see his face with the crow mask. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“J-jake?” That was a bad move. He snapped his head up and stared at Dwight. Dwight had spent years with Jake, and knew actions and his looks were his words. His eyes were conflicting, trying to figure things out. “J.. Jake..?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The eyes turned red suddenly. Claudette grabbed Dwight’s arm and dragged him away. He looked back to see Jake getting up, holding a silver hook as his weapon. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We have t-to help him!” Dwight sobbed out, looking at the women dragging him, who was also crying. “Not right now. We have to survive.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded and swallowed. He didn’t want to die- not to Jake. The Entity was sick. He looked up passed the trees to see a worn down mansion, or half of one. Jake never had an exact bad experience, not one bad enough to make a map out of, so the Entity must have meshed his worse experiences together: Jake’s family home, and the first forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wanted to cry, realization settling in that Jake willingly wanted to die for everyone, but instead has to go through this now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Claudette slapped him suddenly. “Wake UP, Dwight! Don’t let Jake kill you. We don’t know what he’s like!! He could be in there, being controlled. He doesn’t want to kill us, but will!” Dwight nodded and grabbed his bearings for the moment and nodded. He had to be strong, and be a leader. For Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They got a few generators done, some being in the mansion, and some being in the forest. Jake was almost silent, and blended into the environment almost perfectly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everyone quickly learned crows were awful. As well as do what they always did, cawing when near by, if they landed on a generator, it would distract them and slow them down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They all managed to get every generator done with no downs. Any time they saw Jake, he would stop walking towards and seem confused. They opened the doors and escaped, but Dwight stayed behind. He stayed near the door, and watched as Jake walked out, staring at him with that confused expression. He didn’t seem to recognize Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake gripped the hook and looked down at it, then back to Dwight before turning around and going back into the forest, towards the mansion. Dwight wanted to hug him. He wanted to pull him through the door. He wanted to stay. But he went through the door and fell on his knees and cried.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He woke up, confused, in pain, and alone. He had no idea what was going on, but it felt like an ocean in his head. Jake grabbed his head in pain, trying to think, but it was hard to grasp a single thought. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Every moment that passed he learned something new, and that ocean was slowly calming down, but thinking felt like walking though mud. He learned his name, and his past with his family. Right when he was learning about the forest he was in, someone said his name. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It hurt. Everything hurt. He looked up to see a- a human? Who was he?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">Kill. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grabbed his head again. He didn’t want to. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">Kill. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Something was inside of him, telling him to. He didn’t want to. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">KILL. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This time, pain came with it. He didn’t like pain. Not right now, at least. He got up and went after the human, but his body wouldn’t work correctly and his head was spinning. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake leaned against a tree and tried to think again. The forest- he had lived in a forest for years, alone and happy. Until..</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">KILL. DO NOT LET THEM WIN. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It screamed in his head, echoing around. Jake didn’t want to kill. He didn’t understand. What was going on? Why was he here? What was this place?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He watched as these humans he felt a bond towards worked on strange equipment. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">KILL. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It came with pain again for failing to kill. Jake wanted to observe. He watched them fix a generator as he remembered the evil forest. The thing.. the demon... that.. Entity that trapped him there. He felt rage towards that thing. It had made him suffer alone for years. Then-</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">KILL. STOP THINKING AND KILL. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake followed a smaller man around, and he ran out of a door. Another man he now recognized stared at him. He remembered how alone he was, until this man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight. That was his name. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong> <span class="s1">KILL IT. IT IS FOOD. WE DO NOT PLAY WITH FOOD. </span> </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">We? Food..? Did he have to kill a human he liked? He didn’t want to kill. Two sides of him were fighting. One wanted blood, death, and pain. The other wanted to hide, be alone, and avoid the survivors. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked down to see a weapon in his hand- how long had that been there? Jake looked at Dwight. No. He would not kill that human. He walked back into the forest, already knowing the map perfectly. He was not lost. Jake went into the broken down Mansion and looked up to see a flock of crows land around him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For some reason he felt peace around them. Jake sat down and pet them. Looking at one, he had new memories form. It was Remmy, who sat on his head and fell asleep. He could hear their thoughts and feel what they felt. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They had basic emotions. No worrying, or overthinking. Peaceful. He wondered if he could be alone forever, then the map began to vanish. Remmy stayed, but everything else was gone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was in a new forest, his mind checking off every forest he had been in. The one with his cabin? No. The first forest? No. The camp forest? No. Camp...? Something rattled in his brain. Camp. What was it? He couldn’t remember it just yet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake still had his hook and gripped it, and was still sitting down. This forest was darker, with a thick black fog. He heard someone and looked around, locking eyes with a masked figure. His mind flooded with memories. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This person was a threat. Jake growled at it holding his hook out to the other, bigger man. They wore a mask with a creepy grin. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh.” It said, sounded surprised. “A new one.” New what? Where was he? Every memory he had of this person was awful. He was always hiding and running away- away from The Trapper. Jake glared at him and backed away. He was not able to fight him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No. No-“ It seemed to have gone through this many times before. “I’m not going to attack.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake growled at him. What lies. He wanted to stab his neck. He wanted to kill this person. Remmy was awake and fluffed up. Jake quickly stuffed Remmy in his hood to protect her, and she settled down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Trapper rubbed his face. “You can’t leave this place anyway. I’ll see you at base.” And walked off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake relaxed when he was gone, but he felt a tug. He looked down to see a claw pulling him. He shrieked, many even worse and painful memories coming up, and he stabbed the claw, making it vanish and poof into fog. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake backed against a tree. He was panicking. He understood almost nothing that was going on and everything was bad. Then he saw The Wraith peek around and ran. No. No. Memories told him to run- to hide and survive. That thing would kill him. It would tear him apart for fun. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had no where to hide. Jake looked around and saw nothing, so he let his instincts take over. He jumped into a tree and perched on a branch, watching the ground below. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake saw the Wraith stop and look up the tree he was on. “We won’t hurt you.” The Wraith spoke. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. It was lying. They never talked and always killed. He was in danger. He was going to die. He had a weapon this time, though. Could he win? Jake watched as the Wraith talked to the Trapper quietly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait- what?” The Wraith said, looking up at him again. Jake glared at them and gripped his hook tightly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s- Jake? The survivor Jake??” The Wraith tried to whisper, and failed due to his shock. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Survivor..? It made.. sense. He went through games, or trials with three others.. His head hurt. Why couldn’t he remember that? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t come down. When Wraith tried to climb up, he hopped down and stabbed his hand over and over before he let go and darted back up. They left him alone after that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Until another walked up and looked up the tree. Jake glared at them, but had almost no bad memories of this person. In fact, he only had happy ones. They were close? His memories of this person were very hazy, like looking through wavy, stained glass. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake knew he could trust this person though. They didn’t talk, or move. Actually, they sat down a few trees away and stared at him. He would scare any of the other killers away if they came near. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yes. He could trust this one. Jake saw no weapon on him, and looked around, not seeing a soul except Michael- he learned his name. Jake went down a branch, but the man didn’t seem to react. Maybe they had more answers? He moved down another and heard voices. Jake tensed up and looked towards the voices. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“-yeah! It’s Jake!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It can’t be. Survivors can’t be-!” Jake locked eyes with a bunny masked woman. Before he could react, Michael chased them away, angry. Jake had gone up the tree again. Michael stayed away for a few minutes before returning, possibly telling them to stop coming back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake gripped the branch with his talon- why was that weird? Half of him thought it was normal while the other half was panicking about his body. He stared at his hands and arms, seeing black feathers and shards of.. something coming out. They didn’t hurt. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The panicked half demanded he look at himself, and the more calm side agreed. Did he not know what he looked like? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked down at himself crouched on a branch. He had one human leg, and one crow leg with a bandage around part of it. He wiggled all of his toes, then claws, perfectly controlling both. Jake reached up and touched his face, realizing he had a mask. How had he not noticed it? Jake grabbed the beak and stared. He turned around and saw a large crow tail, and touched it. He didn’t feel these things, as if they were normal, but he knew these were new. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had no idea why they were “new” but understood these killers hunted him in the past, and he was probably one of them now. Jake looked at the masked man, who had been watching him the entire time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake got down slowly and stared at him from the last branch, tilting his head to the side as he observed the man. Something inside said to trust him, and the other said to flee. He hopped on the ground, but stayed near the tree, gripping his hook again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man still had not moved. Jake stayed by the tree, both compelled to go up it, and to walk to the other. Then, he dug in his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny screw. Jake had to urge to collect it. Michael threw it over to him, and he caught it, staring at Michael with shock. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had given him a shiny? Jake held it in his hands, and thought. His crows liked shiny things- why did he? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Because he was part crow now, a part of him told him. Jake held it close to him, but it didn’t change the fact Michael had willingly given him a shiny, which meant a lot to crows. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had no safe spot to put it in, so he put it in his pocket. Remmy, from his hood, flew out and onto his head, stretching. It seemed safe in this place, feeling its emotions it was happy to see Michael. It’s memories of him were crystal clear - It was odd to see himself through the crows eyes, talking to Michael without all of his new parts. The words were just noises, since crows didn’t understand words. Why couldn’t he remember this himself, though?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked up at Michael, who was standing up now. Jake couldn’t help but fluff up whatever feathers he had to look bigger for the first time. It was an odd feeling he could not control. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man stared before sitting down, not wanting to spook him. Jake looked around the woods, not seeing anyone. He felt like he was being watched, and not by Michael. Jake went up the tree again and stared at Michael. He didn’t leave the branch after that, and some other Killers came and went, talking about Jake or talking to Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hated the pink one in the sweater the most. Jake was reminded of a smaller male who was always tired, and could hardly see his face though his memories. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He leaned against the base of the tree and closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly due to everything he had gone through these past days. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake Park - The Nightingale</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Perks:</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">•A Black Dove: Ravens that land on generators can slow the progress down, or distract survivors as they work on it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">•Mischievous: The killer is able to sabotage 1 generator, and if completed, stuns the survivors. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">•Pack Bond: Any ravens nearby the killer boost their speed for a few moments; Killer is able to place a target on 1 survivor, and the ravens follow them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ravens are able to be distracted with bread crumbs, unless the killer is at Tier 3. When the killer becomes Tier 2 or Tier 3, all crows caw for a few moments. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Tier 1: Fast, Quiet, Watches. His Ravens are only able to be set to “Patrol” on one Survivor. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Tier 2: Slower, Quiet, can attack. His Ravens can now get on generators and distract them, causing them to mess up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Tier 3: Slower, louder, is vicious. His Ravens can not be fooled by crumbs now. He can sabotage unfinished generators, stunning and wounding anyone near by. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His weapons is his hook and talon, using either to wound survivors.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Mori: Knock survivor down on their back, jump up and stab them in the throat with his talon.</span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">
    <a href="https://gumbabunny.tumblr.com/post/621124582837010433/i-cant-find-the-origional-artsit-but-i-wanted-to">What Jake Looks Like (if you know the original artist, tell me so I can edit this and credit properly!)</a>
  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake is overthinking and needs a break</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake woke up slowly from Remmy nuzzling his cheek from his shoulder, cawing softly. He rubbed his eyes, mentally noting this was the longest sleep he had gotten in years. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He rubbed his eyes and looked around, remembering what he knew, which wasn’t much. He looked down to see just Michael staring at him, and no one else nearby. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake slowly climbed down again, wanting to move since his body was cramping from the strange sleeping position against the tree. He stared at Michael, and took one step closer towards him before growing weary. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why was he going closer to him? His blurry memories told him they used to sit beside one another. Michael moved slowly, and took out a necklace- oh. It was shiny. He stared at the ring on the chain. That was important, but he couldn’t remember why. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His finger felt heavy, suddenly. He was oddly aware of a ring he didn’t realize was under his glove being there. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They were gifts. The ring on Michael was from him, and the one he was wearing was from Michael. They had exchanged shinies? He looked at Remmy for answers, cooing at the Raven in its language. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Why do I like shinies?</span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remmy blinked at Jake and tilted its head, considering him now as a baby crow. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Pretty. Want. Good. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pet her head softly and cooed back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">What does it mean to give another a shiny?</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He learned it would take a while for crows to reply back, trying to understand the complex questions. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Trust. Protect. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded and scratched her chin after she was done cawing. He brushed his cheek against hers and looked at Michael before slowly walking over to him, deciding that all of the facts pointed to Michael being trustworthy. Remmy even liked him, and she did not like anyone but Jake and Dwight- but the human less so. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat by the tree next to Michael, watching the other. For once, he could faintly see his eyes. One was a beautiful bright blue, while the other was an almost milky white. He could see Michael staring at him, unmoving except his breathing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">How long had he been sitting there watching him? Did he have things to do? Did he really care about Jake that much to stare at him for hours? Jake couldn’t understand him. He was patient. Every other killer had not been. Jake hugged his legs and began to mindlessly fix his feathers on his leg as if it was a hair out of place. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His feathers bothered him, though, unlike his hair. Jake didn’t care about his hair, but it itched when his feathers were out of place. Plus, he kept feeling a nagging urge to continuously fix them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt a tap on his shoulder and squawked in surprise, having heard no one, and not even Remmy noticed. Jake swung his hook behind him and stabbed whatever it was, hiding behind the tree Michael was sitting on. All of his feathers were fluffed up in a defensive way from shock, which the majority were on his left leg. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ow! Shit!!” A crackly voice said. It was that pink man from earlier, and they pulled the hook out of his arm, clearly annoyed. Michael was in front of the pink killer in a blink of an eye. “Whoa- wait big guy!! I was just—“ Michael grabbed his throat and picked him off of the ground before he could finish explaining his reason. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The pink man, he remembered the name of Freddy, punched Michael over and over to no avail. The bigger man was pissed beyond belief, though, and threw him back a few feet, ready for murder. Freddy coughed and glared at Michael. “It was-“ He wheezed. “-joke.” He was rubbing his throat. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy looked back at Jake and snickered. “Damn. The Entity really did a number on your tricky ass, huh?” He said, voice still scratchy and low. It made him shiver and grip the tree with his hand. Did everyone know about him? What was he not remembering?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look kinda pretty though~!” Freddy cooed, and Michael kicked his stomach. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake hated Freddy the most of all killers. He looked creepy, had a weird vibe from him, and vaguely remembered that man was just awful. Probably The Entity’s favorite. He could not explain the feeling he felt when Michael protected him, AGAIN, from a killer. He kept proving over and over he cared about him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy had stood up and was yelling at Michael, until he stepped forward, and Freddy took a few steps back. “Geez. Fine, fine.” He held up his hands defensively, and walked off grumbling. Michael did not turn around until he could no longer see Freddy for a few minutes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at Michael. He kept protecting him. The bigger man turned around and looked at Jake, and his feathers flattened down, feeling safe again. As safe as you could get in this world, that is. He still had to get used to his new body, and hopefully stop the strange fluffing up of his feathers. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat down, his crow leg outstretched as his human leg was in a half criss-cross shape. Jake looked down at the grass, which was grey and nearly crunchy, as if in the process of dying. The trees had no leaves here, and were dead and a faded brown. He wanted to go back to his forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked up at Michael and swallowed. “H..hello.” It was his first words to anyone here. The other seemed a bit shocked, but awkwardly held up his hand for a wave, but didn’t move it. He knew this killer was trying to gain his trust again, and looked back down at his leg. What was he supposed to say? Michael didn’t seem to be the kind to answer questions. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do.. do you know me?” Jake glanced up at the killer, nervous. Michael sat down and leaned against a tree across from Jake and nodded slowly, pointing at his necklace. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That had to be important. Whatever relationship he and Michael had before, that ring was important. The killer didn’t seem threatening at all for the moment, but minutes ago he had scared off another killer. He even got every single other one to not bother him. Was he dangerous?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered he was weaponless and quickly looked back to where he had stabbed Freddy to find it gone. He wanted it. Jake snapped his eyes down to see a dark purple mist forming his weapon. He stared, amazed. How.. odd. Jake kept it beside him, slightly scared another killer would harass him once more, or Michael would attack him, but he was holding the ring in his hand, chain still connected to his neck. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake took off his right glove, looking at the yellow ring on his finger. It was a very rare shiny, he learned this from Remmy who was pecking at it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Want! Want!</span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Mine</em>. Jake cooed at her, possessive of his shiny. She stopped and flew off, wanting to find her own shinies to see if she could make Jake jealous of her hoard. He watched her leave and looked back at Michael, who was staring at his ring. Jake slipped it off and rolled it around in his hands. Remmy had told him giving shinies meant a trust between them, and Michael had given him two. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slipped his ring back on his finger, then his glove. Jake inhaled and looked at Michael, getting up and walking over to him before sitting a few feet away from the other. Jake was nervous. He could lean forward and grab him if he wanted to.Jake wanted to be brave though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He rested his head in his knees and kept one hand on his weapon, rubbing it with his thumb. It was so quiet here. No wind, wildlife, nothing. Jake didn’t know what to do, and found himself trying not to stare at the killer by fiddling with other things. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He messed with his mask and learned he could close the beak and look out of the eye holes. Jake kept it closed for now, feeling safer somehow like this. He closed his eyes and listened to Michael’s breathing</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The new half-crow wasn’t tired, but he didn’t want to have a stare down with Michael. He could still feel his eyes on him, though. Jake opened his eyes after a while, just in time to see a grey fog swirl around Michael, and he was gone. Jake tensed up and stood up, worried. What was that?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He knew it was familiar, but couldn’t remember why. Jake was alone with five other killers anywhere, in an area he didn’t know. Jake quickly scaled a tree nearby, a bigger one, and sat in the middle. He called upon another crow, Pompa, and looked into his memories to see what this place was like. It was an endless, grey forest, but there was a shack in the middle, with a camp fire outside of it with logs. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It felt familiar. He looked at the tree beside him. Jake could either walk, or jump branch to branch. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Wings</em>! Pompa fluttered his own. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Wingless</em>. He told the crow. Jake looked down and wondered if he fell, would he get hurt? Freddy got hurt multiple times in this world. It was likely. He jumped to the next branch and almost fell, slipping off with his human leg and suddenly dangling upside down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fuck. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He reached up and grabbed the branch and held on with his hands as he dropped to a branch below and climbing down. He was not dealing with that. He dropped on the grass and looked around before picking a random direction and walking that way slowly and quietly, watching his surroundings for any killers. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw light up ahead, and inched closer slowly. Jake heard talking and hid behind trees a few yards away, glancing towards the noises. He saw The Trapper, The Wraith, and The Huntress chatting happily to one another. They were friends?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It would make sense.. he guessed. He sat down and listened, staying a safe distance away, but close enough to faintly hear them speak. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stayed like that, but for the most part was unable to hear the conversation properly. Someone scuffed their shoe to get his attention, and he looked up to see Michael, breathing a bit fast. Had he ran here? He threw Jake something, who caught it. It was a random metal plate, but shiny. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He opened his mask and smiled weakly at him. “Thank you.” He held it, the edges were rough and rusted, but it was shiny still. Michael sat down in front of him once more. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where did you go?” Michael didn’t reply, and Jake remembered that he didn’t talk. The silence that followed was slightly awkward, so he looked away as if something more interesting was over there. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bigger man continued to stare at Jake, though. His talons gripped the dirt, and that was the only noise they could hear that wasn’t their breathing or the faint talking of the others. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He still had to either avoid them, one part of his mind said he had already been here 11 years, or meet them. Well, if he was here forever then he could get to know them. Later. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He stared at his claw as it made small scratch marks in the dirt. Jake liked being with Michael like this. He didn’t like a lot of talking or interaction, and the killer seemed to understand that. Jake looked up at him, still able to see faintly into his mask now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For once, Michael had his eyes closed. Was he asleep? Jake looked around, a bit worried another killer would pop up. He grabbed his hook and clenched it tightly. Jake looked down at it. It was a shiny for sure- silver and perfect with no rust. He part he held had cloth of some kind wrapped around the flat part. The ending curled to form a “U” shape, with a sharp nob at the end. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had seen this shape thousands of times, and knew this meant death. But <em>he </em>was holding it. He could wield it. It wouldn’t hurt him. Jake picked it up and saw it got some dirt on it, and quickly rubbed it off to keep it shiny and pristine. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked back at Michael, who was definitely asleep by his breathing and closed eyes. Jake built up courage over many long minutes before slowly moving next to Michael, and staring at him up close. He was a lot bigger than him- probably almost 3 times his size. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake reached out and touched his shoe, which was the closest thing to him. It wasn’t worn down as the Entity probably kept up their items. He looked at his own shoe, slowly realizing he had almost always had this pair. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He never really took off his clothes- god, now he felt suffocating in them since he just realized this. Jake ran a hand through his hair, careful of his mask. When had he even taken off his clothes or shoes? Well, shoe now. Jake was mainly thinking of simpler things right now, as to not start questioning and bombarding his brain with memories he couldn’t remember properly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake cautiously touched his shoe again with no reaction. He moved closer, not understanding why he was doing this, but finding himself moving anyway. He could feel a small buzz from the shards inside of him, nothing that hurt yet. He wondered what it meant, running his finger over one. They stopped. He did not like them. Jake had a bad feeling these were not... good. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked around but saw no one. Jake stayed by Michael’s feet in his odd way to ‘protect’ him. He gripped his hook and looked at his hands, trying to make time pass faster. He didn’t want to go into his own brain, but that was quickly becoming the only thing he could do. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Just before he could start deep thinking, in a way to prevent that, he grabbed his mask and slid it off. Jake felt oddly free. He set it in his lap gently and ran a hand through his hair again, airing it out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at the skull mask and gently ran his hands around it. He didn’t know what it was. It felt like a skull, but crows never got this big. Jake wondered if this meant anything, like a shiny. He wanted to sit beside Michael, but was vert nervous to. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did trust him, his crows and even his own memories said he was trustworthy. Jake sighed softly and put his mask back on, feeling safer with it. He closed the beak and went to the next tree. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grabbed a low branch and pulled himself up, going about mid way and finding the most comfortable spot he could, which was not that great. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was slightly upset his crow urges told him to make a nest, because it would be safe <em>and </em>comfortable. He may. Jake really had nothing else to do, and his 6th sense told him it would be a long time before he would go into a trial. He did not understand how he knew, but he felt it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake did not want to leave Michael though. Glancing at him, he almost died when he saw Remmy sitting on his lap, asleep. He felt jealousy, but cooled himself and quickly cooed to Remmy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Watch him. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remmy woke up and looked at Jake before falling asleep again. He decided to take that as a yes, and hopped down once more to start finding sticks. It was easy to let his more- what was the word? Jake bit his lip, not even understanding himself just yet. He knew it was a more crow side, because why would he want to make a nest and have shiny stuff? It was weird, yet not to him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He let that side take over and was glad to, since it didn’t overthink or dwell on the unknown, just looking for sticks that seemed suitable. Remmy didn’t caw for him, so he knew Michael was alright. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Where would he put his nest?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He needed to find a safe spot. Where would one be, where killers don’t go to? He looked at the ground as he walked, mainly for small twigs as he was holding some bigger sticks. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The grass faded to a more greener color, and he looked up to see his forest ahead. Weird, but he was glad to know he could come here. His mind tugged back to Michael. He couldn’t leave him alone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked inside of his forest and set the sticks down, making a clattering noise. He walked back to Michael, remembering the way he came from. The man was still asleep with Remmy keeping guard. He walked up to Michael and reached out, lightly shaking his shoulder before darting backwards. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer woke up almost instantly and looked at Jake, before looking around, searching for danger. Michael looked into his lap to see a bird. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I.. found my forest.” Jake said quietly. “I want you to- uhm..” He did not expect it to be this awkward to ask. “To come with me.” Jake would never tell him it was because he didn’t want to leave Michael behind. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The masked man cupped his hands and scooped the crow up with them, and she snuggled into his hold. He carefully got up and followed Jake from a few feet behind. He could feel Michael’s stare on his back, hard and tense. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remmy flew into the trees of his forest when the dead forest began to mingle with his own, and the map came into view. It was different from the trial one, he noticed. No walls, hooks, generators or the like. He felt the gaze of Michael lift off of his shoulders like a weight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake glanced behind him to see Michael looking around and possibly admiring. He felt safe here, at least more than the dead realm. Jake guided him inside and upstairs.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The mansion was split in half and had 3 floors. While not exactly the mansion he grew up in, it only held rooms he hated. His fathers office where he was always lectured, the living room where he had to always please guests, and his room where he was always locked away in and stuck. There were other rooms, but the building was clearly focused on those three. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His room was on the second floor, but he skipped it. The building was falling apart, almost more holes than structure. Every part creaked, even when walked on. It should have fallen apart, or he could step on something wrong and fall, but he sensed an evil energy holding it together to be permanently disheveled. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The third floor wasn’t accessible in trial. Here, there was a hole in one of the random rooms ceiling, with a rickety latter going up into it. He glanced behind him to see Michael looking at everything. Jake went up the latter and looked around. There was nothing up here. A big chunk of the roof above him was gone, but further on down had more roofing than holes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This would be his spot. He felt it in his gut. Jake climbed back down and looked for Michael, who was in the hallway looking at picture frames. Jake walked over to him and stood beside him, only about a foot away to see which one he was looking at. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was a photo from when he was eight. He was all dressed up, hair combed perfectly and wearing a suit in a family perfect image. His brother was on his fathers right side, and he was on his mothers left. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wanted to break it. “You can explore freely.” He said quietly. “I’m going to get sticks.” Jake walked off, the growing need for a safe space becoming apparent. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He grabbed the sticks from earlier and asked Remmy to fly the twigs up there for him. She happily did so. Jake carried the sticks he found earlier up to the attic, not seeing Michael in the hall as he passed it. He set the sticks down and left again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This would be a lot of work. He would also need to find soft things. That would he harder. Jake walked passed his room and stopped, peering in curiously. He saw Michael looking at the stuff in his room. Jake looked at his bed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was still in a more crow state than human, and he instantly noted that that would be the source of his soft material. Sticks first. Jake quickly turned and walked outside, going from tree to tree gathering sticks he found suitable for his nest. He made 3 more trips before he decided that was enough. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake went back down and to his room. Michael was gone, who knew where. He summoned his hook and tried to slide the mattress open. To his shock, it didn’t. Jake stabbed it again, but nothing. Curious, he tried to stab the drywall that was old and weak only for it to repel his hook like it was metal. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael walked in and stared at him. Jake glanced behind him towards him and sighed. “It- I want the fluff.” Jake said, almost defeated. Michael walked over and pulled a long kitchen knife out of no where and stabbed the mattress. It split open like nothing. Jake didn’t think anything of it. He wouldn’t want to anyway, but was pleased. He quickly gathered as much as his arms could hold and carefully carried it up the latter into the attic. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael stayed downstairs for the most part while Jake began to take a long, long time to making something. From what he could recall from what Jake taught him about crows before this, they made nests. He had used what Jake taught him to gain his trust back. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The survivor had showed him to be slow and patient, the bird would come to you. They also loved shiny trinkets of any kind. He made sure to follow these to the letter, never making sudden movements unless Jake was threatened. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Earlier, Jake had hid behind him in fear and had willingly gotten close to him. He even spoke to him, and brought him to his map. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Their map was their only sanctuary. It was away from everything, the other killers, and even the Entity. While the Entity was there and most likely always watching, it had never showed up in their space. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It seemed to respect them on some level, at least. Michael had always hated the Entity, and tried to displease it at first. He hated following orders or doing something he was told to do, but that pain.. Michael grit his teeth and sat down on a chair in the small room. He never wanted to experience it again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hated seeing Jake like this. He was at camp watching the killers talk, when Trapper returned saying there was a new killer. Wraith had left with them. Then Huntress. Michael was alone, since Freddy was not allowed in the camp. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Every one hated him, even the killers. Michael let his curiosity get the better of him. He didn’t know what to think when he saw Jake’s terrified expression looking at him, before confusion. Michael just had to overwhelming feeling to protect him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He knew what Jake went through. He could see the pain in his eyes, and the confusion and suffering. He knew what pain the Entity could cause. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael made sure to do things extra slow, since Jake would be scared beyond belief. To his surprise, Jake seemed to vaguely recognize him and trust him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He took this with good stride and went at the pace Jake set. He made sure none of the killers got near him. Freddy, that tiny demon, had purposely scared Jake. Michael was about to kill him when he had left. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He turned around to see Jake’s scared expression on the mask relax when he saw Michael, and his feathers had calmed down. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before that, Jake had slept through two trials. He was worried about him as he went to his own, which was an odd feeling. He had never really felt before, but Jake was another level that always surprised him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He almost never slept. He did not need to. Physically tired did not happen, but mentally did. He rarely got tired, and when he did it was because of something Jake did. Long ago when Jake impaled himself on the hook, he had fallen asleep because of how many questions went around his head. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That’s how Michael found himself falling asleep beside Jake. He was tired of being worried about him. Jake had woken him up though, and he thought something was wrong, but no. To his surprise again Jake wanted to take him to his map. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did so. He could tell Jake was also worried about him. Michael wondered what his map was like, but did not expect this. It was a very green forest compared to the dull one behind him, with a broken down mansion in the middle. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had never told him his past, so he wondered how this was his bad experience. Jake seemed determined to do something, though. He didn’t follow Jake up a latter, and stayed behind to observe. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Young Jake was nothing how he expected, despite never thinking about it. He was well dressed and pristine, opposite of how he was right now. Michael did not expect Jake to get so close. The man gave him permission to walk around the map freely. He wondered if Jake knew that it was not common to allow others into their realms?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A noise snapped Michael out of his thoughts. A low cooing noise. He got up and slowly went up the latter. It creaked under his weight, but didn’t break. Michael stood on a step high enough to look into the attic. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw a big nest on the other side with Jake constantly touching it and trying to make it perfect. Something about his eyes were different. Was it possible he was fighting the Entity’s hold? Every killer at first had an iron grip on their heads from the Entity making them kill until they did it willingly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had seen Jake look conflicted multiple times. Michael made a noise to get Jake’s attention. The smaller man looked over and quickly changed attitudes. He had forgotten Michael was here. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You can come up..” He seemed weary. Jake went around his nest once more as Michael went into the attic, but sat down farthest away from him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake seemed to deem the nest suitable, full of mattress fluff and sticks. He got into it and laid down, not coming back up. He sat up tall to see what was going on and realized Jake had fallen asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That was.. cute. Michael leaned against a wall and looked outside through the holes into his realm. It was peaceful here. Unlike the dead forest, crows were cawing from all directions. Back in reality, he would hate this noise, but here? It was almost soothing. Michael closed his eyes and listened to the birds as Jake slept. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Trying and Failing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jake goes through a nightmare<br/>Michael and Dwight try to help</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake woke up and immediately knew he was somewhere different. Jake looked around and tensed up. He was in his room. Not the one in the mansion; this was <em>his</em> room. Perfect, and back in reality. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He ripped the covers off, and was fully human. Was he back? It felt too true. Jake got up and looked at himself in the mirror, touching his face, confused. His mind still felt muddled, like he was moments before he fell asleep in that nest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was it all just a super vivid dream? Jake ran a hand through his hair. Maybe. He needed proof this was real. Jake grabbed a comb on his table, it was pure silver and heavy in his hand. He recognized it as one of the gifts his mother gave him, noting how his hair was always tangled. He pressed the bristles into his palm hard, until one broke skin. He bled. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Alright. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake set it down and walked to his bathroom connected to his room. So, was that just a nightmare? If he ran away that could happen?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It didn’t explain his head. Maybe he had gotten into an accident he couldn’t remember and was mentally unstable now. It was likely he was in a forest with others and fought to survive for a long time before being found. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake grabbed his head as pain shot through it. He was overthinking again. He couldn’t remember. Something was preventing him from remembering. Jake grit his teeth. That nightmare felt real. Too real. He needed to do something he wouldn’t do in real life. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake walked out into the hallway with just boxers and looked around. There was just a maid doing her job in the hall, but looked at him when he came out. He had not seen a new person in years - or if this was true, then a day. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dreams weren’t supposed to feel like they lasted over a decade, each moment passing by slowly like that, right? Was there a condition for that? He walked back into his room and put on pants before leaving. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was exactly the same from what he remembered. His entire body was screaming, though. It was his place, but he felt like he was going to die here. Jake clenched his fist and continued on, looking into his fathers office. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wasn’t in there. Good. Jake didn’t care if this was real or fake or if he would die, something was compelling him to go outside. He did, and with no shame. Jake had not seen or felt the sun in so long he compared it to the campfire. It was bright everywhere. It felt weird, since he was so used to nighttime. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sat on the grass and sighed. There were too many confusing things happening all at once. Who was he, really? He couldn’t remember passed the point of that first forest with Dwight, Meg, and another woman. He knew there were more- maybe three? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He grabbed the grass. It <em>felt </em>real. Everything had smells and noises too. He could feel the sun, warmth, hear the birds and the wind. It was peaceful. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yet why did he feel the constant need to run? Was it because of his weird dream? Jake stood up and backed away from the mansion. It had a sickening feeling to it. Something was definitely wrong. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His brain told him to run. A side of him that wasn’t him- the crow side. He ran. Jake racked his brain, trying to remember. What was he forgetting? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat under a perfectly trimmed bush and grabbed his hair. Was it just the stress of his father along with the nightmare? He wanted answers. Nothing was happening, though. Nothing was around him. He was alive and safe. That murderous feeling was gone.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was he just overreacting and panicking?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake?” Someone called out. His blood ran cold and his heart stopped. It was his mother. He had not heard her voice in so long. Jake moved his hands away from his hair to see blood soaking them. He panicked again, but when he looked again it was gone. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yep. He was insane. “Jake?” She called out again and walked around, but couldn’t seem to find him. Jake got up and walked over to where he last heard her. And he saw her standing there, beautiful dress and all. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake! You had me worried sick!” She walked over to him. Something inside of him told him not to trust her. Was it his insanity? He looked at the ground. “Don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How can I not? You didn’t take your pills and ran outside!” She said, standing in front of him now. Every bone in his body said run. That she wasn’t real. None of this was. To get away, and fast. But her smile was comforting. He sighed a bit and walked around her to go inside. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t remember pills though. If this was reality, he was insane and unstable. If this wasn’t... He looked behind him, and his mother was gone. That was not normal. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt unsafe again. No. He wasn’t insane. This wasn’t real life. Something opened in his mind like a balloon popping, revealing information that was hidden from him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A nightmare. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked around, glaring. He knew where he was now. The dream world. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hah!” His voice called out from everywhere. “You figured this out faster than I expected.” Jake couldn’t hear where he was coming from. He felt his hook form at his fingertips and gripped it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had to wake up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake picked a random direction and took it, searching for the things on the ground he needed. He remembered doing this many times before, and Dwight or someone else would wake him up. He would wake up others, too. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There is none here. Only in trials, my dear!” Jake looked around and bit his tongue. Pissing Freddy off would not be the best idea. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The environment was changing slowing into something more dark and sinister. Even if he was a killer now, he was at the mercy of Freddy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You got that right~!” The man purred and appeared in front of him. Jake stopped and stared at him, taking a step back. Could he hear his thoughts? He had grabbed his memories from his life before to torment him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was different from the dream world in the trials, though. He gripped his hook and growled at Freddy. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You poor child. You had everything, and no worries! You just had to keep daddy happy.” Freddy walked around him. He didn’t have a weapon, yet, and was playing with his food. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You couldn’t even do that. How pathetic.” Freddy stopped behind him. “So you ran, like a pussy you are, and found yourself in hell. Stuck with me.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake spun around and stabbed Freddy but it did nothing. “Hah.” He smirked, the hook was sinking into his skin but doing nothing to the man. He let go and ran the other direction as fast as he could. Jake needed to get away. To flee. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy was still there. Laughing. He stopped running when he saw the first forest again. It wasn’t his. It was a twisted version of it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ooo~!” Freddy purred. “This will be fun.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake did not like hearing this as it could only spell trouble. He saw The Trapper come into view, bigger than his normal self. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was just a nightmare. Jake didn’t know if killers were different, but he stood his ground. He did almost scream when Trapper stabbed him, but nothing happened. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“..” Freddy looked annoyed. He was not allowed to hurt the killers, but could play on them when they fell asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake backed away as The Trapper in his nightmare vanished. He looked back to Freddy to see him summon his weapon. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They could hurt one another, though. Jake knew a hook was not going to be good against a claw, so he ran. Freddy cackled and chased after him, enjoying the new toy (Jake) he found. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t understand why he was crying. He darted through some trees quickly in any attempt to escape, with no use. This was Freddy’s world, and he couldn’t escape. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wanted Michael to wake him up. Why hadn’t he yet? Jake felt pain shoot up his side as Freddy dug into his hip, drawing blood. He had gotten distracted. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake swung back with his hook, hitting nothing. He stood his ground and looked around for the killer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hah. It’s funny seeing you like this, Jakey~ You think you can escape.” Freddy was cooing from inside his head. Jake glared at the silent trees. He couldn’t attack Freddy, how was he supposed to win? How long would he be stuck in here? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt his arms tingling and opened them to see the shards, his mask, and leg had returned. Or, were visible now. He closed his mask and chose a random direction to run. He would not give up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The last time he gave up, it got worse. He made his friends suffer. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh?” Freddy purred, digging more into what Jake’s fears were. “This is all your fault? I’m in this heaven because of you?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stabbed a tree. “Fuck off!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You speak!” Freddy snickered and appeared beside him. “You were so weak you gave up, and because you did, all of those people have to suffer forever.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pulled his hook out and aimed at Freddy’s face, but he vanished. “I can’t believe you are that weak! Entity tells us who lives and dies the most so none of the survivors get lucky. You have the most deaths.” Freddy seemed to want to dig into why, but he already knew. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sacrificing yourself won’t solve anything.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake teared up despite himself. He knew that! It was the most he could do next to- next to what? His mind was fuzzy again after that point. Freddy seemed to falter, since he was using Jake’s emotions against him. He couldn’t get anything new out of him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy kept talking about The Entity. Why was that familiar? What was it?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You don’t know?” Freddy was almost laughing. “The most terrifying God to exist!” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">‘He probably sucks the Entity’s dick.’ Jake thought, annoyed. He couldn’t remember this Entity at all for some reason, but felt they were a big problem in his mind.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake.” Freddy’s grumbly voice called out. “Do you even remember? What all of those killers did to you?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake glared at him and gripped his hook. He did. And he remembered Freddy brutally killing them, too. Laughing and smiling as he had. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey- hey! I’m different when it comes to killers! They all hate me, but here, we could be friends!” Freddy smiled at him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake hated it. He could almost taste the lies. The killers hated Freddy because he was awful. Plus, if he wanted to be friends why did he torment him?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“To get to know you! Plus, Michael’s hangin’ around you like a fly around honey.” Jake didn’t believe him one bit, and stepped back from Freddy, who got pissed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Listen here, I made an effort to be friends with you. You’re the asshole here!” He said, growling and jabbing his chest with the gloveless hand with his finger.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake backed away again and glared at him. He wanted to kill Freddy. “I’ll tell you something that may wake up that mind of yours.” He didn’t want to, but also did. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Entity is controlling your ass more than anyone here. You were a survivor, and now a killer, and you’ve been here the longest.” Freddy was saying this to grab at whatever else Jake was scared of. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did not expect Jake to absolutely blank, though. “Uh, Jakey?” He waves his hand in front of his face. He could see Jake crying but felt nothing from the man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was overloaded. Like a flood and he was drowning, but it wasn’t even the majority of it. He couldn’t remember the rest- maybe 2 years after the first forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Freddy finally felt something from him, and it was true loneliness. Jake had given everything for the Entity just so the other survivors could be happy in this hell. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, so sad.” He purred. “You blamed yourself, so you did anything you could for them.” His voice was on the verge of sinister, but he was trying to sound sad. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Get out of my head.” He growled lowly at the other. Freddy just laughed and stabbed his gut. It wouldn’t kill him, but it hurt. Jake grabbed his arm and threw him off, quickly running again. It was better than just standing there. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked behind him and didn’t see Freddy, but instead felt a mist. Jake ignored it and looked forward, only to run straight into a generator. A loud clang noise rung through the map, and Jake held his mask where it hurt his head. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fuck. He stumbled back, having dropped his hook. His head was ringing loudly, but he ignored it to quickly look around for Freddy. He saw nothing. Was this a trick? He opened his mask and rubbed his head before looking back at the generator confused. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh. He was in a trial. He had escaped Freddy by going into a trial. Jake looked around again to hear his crows cawing about survivors nearby. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered them all now. Dwight, Meg, Claudette, Quentin, David, and Laurie. It hurt to think about them, and he hissed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong>
    <span class="s1">KILL. </span>
  </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was that annoying voice again. Shut up. I’m still figuring stuff out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong>
    <span class="s1">DO NOT THINK. KILL. </span>
  </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake wanted to punch whatever that voice was. He ignored it for the moment to quickly go around his map and watch. He found Meg working on a generator, with Claudette beside her. Was it bad to have both equal urges to go up to them and hug them, as well as kill them? It was like a coin flip of exactly 50/50. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong>
    <span class="s1">KILL. IT WILL BE FUN. </span>
  </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Fun? He doubted that. Fun in hell didn’t exist. Jake sent a crow over to them, and it landed on the generator, distracting them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wondered what his perks were. Every survivor and killer had them. Jake wondered if he had a mori, since he was killed so many times by that. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake saw Dwight come out of a locker- of course- and talk to them. He looked distressed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake missed him. He could feel the evil inside him grasping at anything to try to get him to kill, but it had no leverage yet. He continued to ignore the voice, and continued to follow them as they worked on generators. Would they just leave? Would they look for him? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">.. did they care? Jake gripped his hook. His last memories of them, even though he knew they were old, was everyone ignoring him and pushing him out of the camp. Even Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The thing inside him grasped at those emotions, and took over. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><strong>KILL THEM</strong>. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And he would. Every crow cawed across the map, and Jake quickly charged at Meg, stabbing her with his hook easily. None of them at expected it. The other two took off, and Meg tried to escape. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake let his rage take over. He had given everything for them, only for them to treat him like shit. Why? Did he spend those years he couldn’t remember alone and in pain like this?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He darted forward and downed Meg. Jake was too small to haul them over his shoulder, so he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the nearest one. She was screaming something but he was too far gone to hear her. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He cooed, sending out a few crows to find a generator and distract them. Jake threw Meg onto the hook with strength he didn’t know he had- it probably wasn’t his. He couldn’t care to look at her as he left. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If felt like he was in a bubble in his own mind, letting this dark force take over with his emotions as he could only sit and watch. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The difference here was, he knew how they were. Claudette would go for Meg, while Dwight and someone else would go for generators. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake slipped behind a tree and waited. Then, he shot out and darted left of the hook. Claudette was crouched behind a bush, and screamed when Jake found her. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She always did this. Jake stabbed her once, but she got away. He chased after her, and downed her. Dwight may save Meg as he hooked Claudette, but he would have to be fast to do that. Jake hooked her and went back to Meg just in time to see Dwight running for the hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake ran after him, his rage increasing. He had allowed himself to finally have a true friend, for that person to turn around and hate his existence. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight noticed him and ran away from the hook and into the woods. Finally, some words got through to Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“JAKE!” Dwight screamed. He was probably crying. Jake felt himself in that bubble shrink down. “Jake please-“ Dwight was trying to talk while surviving and avoiding him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re being controlled!!” Dwight yelled out as he dodged Jake’s swing. Jake just wanted fo block out the noises and get this over with. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why? Just so he could go back to that hell? He didn’t want to see anyone. He wanted to be alone. He didn’t want to do anything. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight got hit and cried out, running away as fast as he could. There weren’t many pallets over this way, he was fucked. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then he tripped and fell on his face, his glasses falling off as he ate dirt. Dwight heard Jake stop running and walk over to him, probably laughing. He waited for the pain to come, but none did. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight looked up to see a blurry figure crouched in front of him. Jake slid Dwight’s glasses on, and he could see the killer had been crying, and still was. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“J-jake?” Dwight asked softly, as if talking would snap Jake back into his murderous rage. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. why?” Jake choked out. Maybe Dwight had answers to what was happening. He sat down and rubbed his face, choking out sobs. “What is going on?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight hugged him. Jake was not expecting this at all, but it made him cry more. He leaned against Dwight and kept crying. “I-i can’t- remember.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The survivor spoke up finally. “What do you remember?” He was rubbing his side in an affectionate way. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong>
    <span class="s1">HE IS USING YOU TO SURVIVE. DONT FALL FOR IT. </span>
  </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut up!” Jake hissed at the voice in his head, grabbing his hair tightly. “I- you- the first forest, then- two years after.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight seemed to try to remember that, then tensed up. “Oh.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oh? <em>OH</em>?? Just “oh”?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake pulled away from him and glared at him. “We were f-friends and you- you!!” Jake reached for his hook but stopped. “Why? Why did you ignore me? Why did everyone ignore me? I can’t remember anything after.. after a random day.. it’s so..” Jake couldn’t stop his tears. Why was he telling Dwight this? The man hated him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you- do you not know why?” Dwight quickly coughed since Jake had answered that question. “The Entity was controlling us.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <strong>
    <span class="s1">HE IS LYING. THE OTHER MOUSE IS USING THIS TIME TO FIX THE GENERATORS. KILL THEM. </span>
  </strong>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t know what to believe. He backed away from Dwight, almost fearful of him. Dwight was crying, he hadn’t noticed. The survivor hugged him again and cried quietly into his scarf. “I’m sorry.. I couldn’t stop this.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Stop what? Why couldn’t he remember? “Around three years after that, I think, I-i snapped out of the Entity’s hold.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What even was the Entity? He wanted to stab it. “How?” “I-i was forced to live every single day you did in your first two years of the forest, but as a spectator- I’m so sorry.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at Dwight. He wanted to stay with him longer. Jake remembered his feelings for Dwight in the forest when he had appeared. It had just been them two for a long time. “You- you said I’m being controlled?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded softly. “You h-have to fight it. It’s really hard and you may not even notice it, but its there.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake absorbed all of this information and nodded slowly. “Go- go do the generators.” He pushed Dwight away and got up. “I won’t-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake locked eyes with David, the last survivor. He didn’t remember why, but the rage for David outweighed any rage he held for anyone else (except the Entity).</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight saw his eyes go red, which it what signaled he was no longer Jake. He looked behind him to see David running, but Jake was pissed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He ran after the man and downed him faster than he had anyone before. Pure rage was in his eyes. Jake didn’t realized what he was doing until it was over and done with. He had used his mori and had stabbed David’s throat with his talon, killing him instantly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at his dead body, emotionless. His breathing was ragged, he was shaking, and probably crying again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><strong>GOOD. ONE LEFT.</strong> The thing in his head purred to Jake. No. He was not going to kill Dwight. He expected Dwight to hide for a little bit, come out to finish the generators and escape. Instead, he felt arms wrap around his middle and a body squeeze him tightly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake clenched his hook and had to fight every urge not to stab him. He got close to doing it, but dropped it so he couldn’t. “Dwight.” Jake said quietly. If he spoke any louder the survivor would hear his voice shaking.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight hugged him tighter. “I’m a monster, now.” Jake swallowed thickly. “I don’t know if-“ He couldn’t continue. His voice hurt too much to. Dwight looked at him. So much worry, care, sadness, and something else was in his eyes. It was almost overwhelming. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No. It w-won’t happen because I-i know you. You c-can fight it.” Dwight was clearly trying to stay strong for him. “Look at me, Dwight. I-i’m a killer now. I’m probably going to-“ He choked again and shoved Dwight away. “Just stay away.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw Dwight reach for him, but Jake just couldn’t. He turned and ran the other direction and hid in the room where his attic latter should have been. Jake curled up in a dark corner, hugging his legs and yanking his hair hard. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t want to kill. If anything Dwight told him was true, then he gained friends in the years he couldn’t remember. Michael was in that time frame, bits and pieces showing up. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered a time he begged Michael to not kill Dwight- something was wrong with him. It was like snow on a car, unable to see in unless you wiped. Jake had wiped small bits off to see inside because of random memories. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered why he was so mad at David. Jake felt sick to his stomach. This was- this was his most recent memory. Was it a few days, weeks, or months ago? It was that close. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake heard the door open, and he teared up. Did Dwight just use him to escape? Why did it hurt him to realize this? Wouldn’t he have done the same, if Dwight was a killer? Jake didn’t want to think what would happen, if anyone else was a killer. He already knew he would blame himself even more than before. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He buried his head in his legs, so overwhelmed with everything it hurt to think. He finally knew who he was, kind of. He didn’t know how he ended up in this situation. He didn’t know who to trust, Michael, Freddy, Dwight, the voice, or himself. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt a hand on his shoulder and shrieked, every feather fluffing up as he smacked hard into the wall beside him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I-i’m so sorry! Y-you weren’t r-reacting..” Dwight said so fast it was almost a jumble of words. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake calmed down slowly and looked up at him. Dwight had looked for, and found him instead of leaving. “I-i could kill you at any moment.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know.” Dwight said, and sat beside him, grabbing Jake’s hand slowly, making sure it was alright. He weakly squeezed back, soaking up the affection like a sponge. He needed it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why?” Jake asked, looking at him. “Because you are my friend. I care about you.” And the new killer almost cried again. He squeezed Dwight’s hand hard. “I don’t- want to go back there.” Dwight squeezed back and nodded. “I’ll stay here as long as I can. Do.. you think theres a way for me to find you outside of trials?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake shrugged slowly and hugged his legs again, one arm holding them. “It’s-“ He closed his eyes. “The killers have a camp. They k-know me. I’ve been avoiding them.” Jake took a pause, and Dwight squeezed his hand to tell him he was listening and ready. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Michael protects me. From them.” He loosened his grip on Dwight’s hand. “R-right before the trial I-i fell asleep.” Jake was shaking again. “Freddy- it.. it was- so bad. I couldn’t l-leave.” Jake faced away from Dwight. “O-only going to the trial f-freed me.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Everyone had seen Jake spawn and looked terrified before smacking into the generator. No one laughed, but were concerned since this was his second trial, and was <em>running</em> from something. He had looked terrified. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight scooted forward and hugged Jake again. “I’m so sorry..” He had no clue how to help Jake. Telling him what happened would probably be bad and overwhelm him, if he wasn’t already. Which, he was. Dwight could see it because when he entered the room Jake looked like a child, crying in a corner silently. It was such a sad sight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He couldn’t imagine what Jake was going through. They had just- Dwight forced himself not to cry. They had just gotten Jake to open up and finally be happy, only for that to be ripped away faster than lightning. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How- how are you? Is- Is David..?” How could Jake be worried about him in a time like this? “David is h-himself. Kind of.. He knows what he did and.. is beating himself up over it.. but it wasn’t him.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake nodded and slowly turned back to look at Dwight. “T-try to find me. Please.” He sounded so desperate it hurt. He nodded and rubbed his friends hand softly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He seemed to notice the time and stood up, still holding Dwight’s hand and running. The survivor could hardly keep up since his speed increased. “J-Jake!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But he ignored Dwight and ran him to the door. Almost on instinct, he tried to walk through it as well. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake went through, but his shards were sending painful waves through his entire body. He dropped Dwight’s hand and went back into the map, the pain stopping. The survivor watched, shocked. He ran up to the door but couldn’t reach Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The killer was staring at his hands. “What am I?” Was the last thing Dwight heard him say to himself as the map faded. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had no clue what even went on in that man’s head. Only survivors could go past the door. Jake, as a killer, had. Something was not adding up. Dwight returned to Quentin and Laurie alone, and told them everything that happened. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With nothing else to do, each person went around their loop of the forest for any chance they could find what Dwight described as a ‘dark, twisted forest. Trees are darker and fuller with twisting branches and a thick fog.’ since neither had seen it before. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight retraced what he had done to see it the first time, but was hesitant since he didn’t want to have to go through two years of watching Jake suffer again. He didn’t tell them that part. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No, it was what he was thinking at the time. He wanted to find Jake so badly for some reason, that he found the forest. Dwight bit his nails and stared at the ground as he walked. What would Jake do in this situation? He found himself asking this often, especially since the man was no longer here to help them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was harder to win trials without him. They were more tired, talked less, and slept more. Jake was important to their team. Somehow, without the silent man there watching them as they spoke, their conversations were weirder. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight paused when the grass changed color. He looked up, his heart hammering in his chest. There ahead was the forest- Jake’s map. He quickly stepped in to look for his friend. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Jake looked up, Dwight was gone. He felt the generators and other things gone as well from his map. Jake fell down on his knees, too tired and emotionally drained to cry. He wanted to curl up in his nest and sleep, but he was too tired to move and too scared to sleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He heard Michael walking up to him, sensing his presence since he was still in his map. Jake didn’t care. He hung his head down and just wanted to forget everything and die, this time for good. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael stood behind him quiet, noticing Jake’s emotions were not good. He walked in front of Jake and picked up by his armpits and switching him over to a bridal style. The fact Jake didn’t react made Michael feel worry once more, though it was faint. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked down at Jake as he walked to his mansion, only to see a blank stare and dry tears. He carefully climbed up the latter and set him in his nest before backing away, but Jake weakly grabbed onto his wrist. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael almost didn’t notice his hand holding him, and stayed beside it. Jake looked up at him slowly. “W-why do you stay with me?” Michael grabbed Jake’s hand and looked and stared into his eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake’s brown eyes were mesmerizing. They held so many emotions he couldn’t understand. Michael took off Jake’s glove and grabbed the ring he wore. The half-crow looked down at their hands. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It meant they were friends. Jake laid down and rested his head on the edge of the nest. He wasn’t going to sleep, just laying down and holding Michael’s hand weakly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Michael watched as Jake tensed up and sat up, his feathers slowly fluffing up into a defensive way. “I- someones here. I don’t know who.” His emotions were so muddled up he could hardly focus on something as simple as sensing what was in his realm. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bigger man got up, knowing Jake was unable to at the moment. He went down the latter and towards the first floor when he stopped, seeing something he thought he never would have. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight was looking up at him from the bottom of the rickety stairs. Fear and panic almost took over, but he swallowed and waved awkwardly. “W..where’s Jake?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael stared at him, knowing Jake and him were friends. He turned around and walked back towards the attic. There was no use in killing Dwight here, plus the Entity most likely did not know he was here. Yet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight ran up the stairs and followed Michael, visibly nervous. To his surprise, he went into the room he found Jake before. This time, there was a latter. Michael went up it, so he followed after. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight looked around. Half of the roof was gone, and under the part where there was a roof, was Jake in a huge nest looking at him with shock. “D-dwight.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was scared this was another nightmare. That soon he would have to he running from Freddy for hours, maybe even days. Michael was sitting a few feet away, nearby but far enough where Jake felt comfortable. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight entered the attic and stared at his friend before sitting down on the old wood. “I-i like your nest.” That seemed to help Jake a bit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Both men could tell something was extremely wrong with Jake, or was it the Entity? The fact Dwight was here, and that Jake had went through the door, and many other things were so odd. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael watched Jake sway a bit, but was forcing himself to stay awake. He had never seen anyone need so much sleep before. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jake.. can you t-talk to us?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The smaller killer reached up and took off his mask before silently nodding. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to sleep and be in that black void forever. Sleep was dangerous though. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What’s going on?” The question made Jake chuckle. “Everything.” Was his reply. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before he would speak up again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Its like a puzzle, except you get pieces at random times and most of them dont connect yet.” Jake ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes, sighing slow. “My brain is underwater during a storm. I learn nothing underwater but its not overwhelming, yet I’m still drowning. Any time I go to the surface to breathe, it’s a battle to stay afloat and it hurts.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake opened his eyes and looked at his hands. “When I woke up I knew next to nothing.” He went quiet, staring mindlessly at his hands. Michael had no idea how to react, or if he should help. Dwight was chewing on whatever nubs he had as he watched Jake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I battle every second to figure out who- what I am. Theres a side of me that wants to kill. Theres a side of me that wants to hide. Theres one that’s a crow.” Jake didn’t know who he was. What was he supposed to be?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He dug his palms into his eyes to stop himself from crying again. His eyes were burning from the constant crying. It hurt to touch, to breath, to <em>think</em>. “What can I do?” He choked out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight slowly crawled over to his nest and touched the edge. Jake backed away from him. He wasn’t himself. He wasn’t anybody. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s okay.” Dwight spoke softly to him. Jake had always been there for him, and he had gone through so much pain in less than a week, and years prior that he was shocked he was still sane. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Plus, he was sure Entity was twisting his mind for some kind of sick game. “You have to fight it.” Dwight reached over and grabbed his hand. Jake liked hand holding since it was not a lot of contact, and felt nice. He weakly squeezed his hand. “Fight what?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The Entity. Don’t let that bastard win.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. I don’t know what the Entity is.. I have no memories of it.” Dwight and Michael both looked shocked. Michael had sat up a bit as a reaction. “None?” A slow head shake. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You were the one that saw it the most. The-“ Dwight choked. “Do you know what happened the day before you became a killer?” Another slow head shake; Jake looked confused. Dwight was worried he was overwhelming him, and glanced at Michael. He was glad Jake had another friend, especially to get him through this. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You a-always protected us.” He sucked in a breath. “The Entity appeared. It said it was bored and was going to kill one of us.” Dwight closed his eyes and found him squeezing Jake’s hand hard. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The pain was awful. But when I came to you were-“ Dwight swallowed thickly. He hated thinking about this. “You were standing in front of us. And it just- j-just mutilated you. I-it chopped off your leg l-like nothing a-and there was so much b-blood. You were-“ Dwight felt arms wrap about him and sobbed into the shoulder. “You were screaming so m-much. We couldn’t do anything.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake was not the best hugger, but seeing Dwight like this hurt. He rubbed Dwight’s back, and it was strangely comforting to see someone cry over him. “I-it did this just because it was bored?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He saw Michael move closer, and looked up at him. He put his hand on Dwight’s shoulder before pulling away and sitting beside the nest. While he could not find a single care about the man, or anyone else, he cared about Jake. Dwight sniffled. “I’m sorry. I made this about me-“</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No.” Jake knew he was panicking. “You told me what happened.” He pulled away from Dwight to get a look at his face, and pulled his glasses off. The man blinked and rubbed his eyes before looking back at Jake’s blurry form. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When he put the glasses back on him, Dwight could see clearly. Jake had cleaned them. He smiled softly at him. “You should sleep.” He saw the fear in his eyes. “N-no.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Michael will wake you up, if it happens.” Jake looked skeptical and glanced at Michael. “Last t-time..” There had to be a reason he didn’t know. Michael was just giving him a blank stare, offering no explanation. “O-okay. P-please wake me up if if happens.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight nodded, and Michael shuffled to get comfortable. Jake curled up in his nest, and slowly fell asleep. Dwight shuffled nervously, glancing at Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The masked killer stared at Jake, making sure he would wake Jake up the moment he had to. He had been feet away, unable to see him last time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“U-uhm. D-do you think its weird he doesn’t remember the Entity?” A stare. Alright, weird. How does Jake deal with him? “... t-today, Jake killed everyone but me.. and when I went through the door, h-he did too. He could go through but it seemed to hurt him.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael nodded slowly, and watched in fascination as Dwight was pulled into a trial. He stared at the spot the survivor was for a minute, before looking at Jake. He definitely looked a lot more relaxed. Michael knew how Freddy worked, and he would stop him permanently. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry if this is getting weird/confusing I promise it will be explained later :p</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Repeat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over..</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You’re not allowed to be happy, Jake. -Entity</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael knew entering another killers realm was not something often done. They were stronger in their own respective areas, but Freddy was almost always in his creepy little map. He could fight the cheese demon, and would make sure he never hurt Jake again. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake slept for two trials before waking up and rubbing his eyes slowly. His entire body hurt, but he had no nightmares. Jake sat up and saw Michael asleep beside the next. He looked tired. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake reached down and gently touched the mask. It was cold, and had many small grooves in it, but was smooth. He wondered what the face was beneath the mask, but didn’t want to invade his privacy by taking it off. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked around, not seeing Dwight. He was most likely in a trial. Jake looked back at Michael and shuffled in his nest. Michael looked uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He was being selfish. What had he done for either of his friends except take from them? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake climbed out of the nest and sat beside Michael for the first time. He slowly lifted up his head and shuffled over so the man could use his leg as a pillow. He smiled to himself and rested his hand on the fake hair, slowly rubbing it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael woke up a few hours later, but didn’t move. Jake didn’t notice he was awake, and had his hand resting on his head. He did not understand why he didn’t want to move. Michael always felt little to no emotions. The most he had felt was anger, pain, and Jake. Jake constantly made him feel things he never felt before, albeit weak. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat up finally, which made the smaller man seem startled. “You gave me a heart attack!” Michael had just sat up suddenly and without warning. Jake inhaled, exhaled, then spoke again after calming down. “N-next time you want to sleep..” Jake didn’t know why it was so nerve wracking to say this. “Y-you can sleep in m-my nest.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Why was his heart beating this fast? Jake was so nervous, and he didn’t know why. Michael gave a small nod and leaned against the wall to sit down. He noticed that Michael did not sleep a lot. Jake got up, stretching his legs and his body and sighing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t want to just sit here anymore. He was sure Michael was the same, also since he got up when Jake did. He walked down the latter first and waited on Michael. Hearing the latter creak and getting a unique view of him, he realized in that moment how big the man was. Jake could tell he only came up to somewhere around his bicep level. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A blush creeped onto his face when Michael stood beside him, waiting to move. “W-wait I forgot my mask.” Jake quickly went up the latter again, feeling Michaels stare on him the entire time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He put on his mask quickly and went back down, avoiding any eye contact, and walking down the hall. He could hear his crows chatting happily outside, and Michael walking behind him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His realm was the safe heaven for crows now. Before, they had no specific area and were just.. THERE. Now they had a place to call home. Jake was happy about that. The moment he came outside, he heard them talk about him and Michael. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Mainly about how he was awake, and how Michael may be a danger and were ready to attack him. Jake stopped walking and walked back to Michael a few feet away. He reached up towards his chin, but went lower and grabbed his necklace, pulling out the shiny. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If there wasn’t cawing before, there was now. Jake chuckled to himself about what the crows were saying. Crows were good at gossip. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">That’s a shiny! </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">We should take. </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">No! </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Master gave that shiny. </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Food? </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">That one is dangerous!</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Danger? Danger?</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Master trusts it!</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Not danger. </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake rolled his eyes at his crows. “They think you’re dangerous.” He paused and hummed. “Well, you are..” Jake looked up at him. Michael wouldn’t hurt his crows, right? The man seemed sort of frozen and was looking to the side at a random crow. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stared at the crow. It gave a small caw, and flew off. “It was trying to take your shiny.” Jake smiled. “They are too scared to do it though.” Michael nodded slowly and moved closer to Jake, which did not freak him out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sat down in a small clearing with Michael across from him. “I didn’t have any nightmares.” He told the bigger man, looking up at the trees where other crows gossiped. One flew down beside him, so he pet it softly under its chin. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Twig? Nest?</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The crow asked. He glanced around the grass and picked up a small twig and handed it to the crow, cooing back. Yes. You have a beautiful nest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The crow fluffed up from being flustered and happy and took the twig before flying off. He looked up to see Michael watching him. When did he ever not stare at him? Well, earlier he had been looking away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt someone rush into his map and he got up quickly and went to the entrance. It was- He darted behind a tree. It was Quentin? Jake was so confused. He walked out, seeing the younger man looking around confused. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He made a noise by stepping on a stick loudly so the other noticed him. Quentin looked at Jake and an expression was on his face he could not pinpoint. “Jake?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He nodded and took off his mask. He felt Michael watching from somewhere in the woods. “How did you find this?” “Dwight told us how to.. you don’t mind right?” Jake shook his head and walked towards him, but he seemed scared so he stopped. “Are you ok?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The question had Jake’s mind spinning. Was he ok? Truly, he wasn’t. “No.” Jake sighed out of his nose, but would not go into detail why. “I’m sorry.” Quentin’s voice shook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Quentin its ok.” Jake tried to calm him down. “It’s just a lot is happening.” But something was off. He felt.. He felt normal. There were no overwhelming thoughts, or him worrying, just nothing. He still had his crow side, but he could not feel that evil inside of him. Was that evil the Entity? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wanted to know why it let go of him. Dwight said it’s hold on people was almost undetectable, and if it was the reason he was being overwhelmed, then he really had to fight it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Quentin nodded, and looked back to where he came. “Jake. Do you want to try to go to camp?” He looked to the void Quentin came from. “Is it a good idea? The Entity could find me where I shouldn’t be..” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t want to go, in fear something awful would happen if it did. Quentin didn’t seem to think of that and backtracked. “Nevermind. I- I just.. we all miss you.” Jake almost didn’t hear it, since he spoke under his breath. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They missed him? He looked away, towards his realm. Jake didn’t know how to reply to that. How could he? He couldn’t remember what happened exactly, but Dwight said they had all become friends. Should he believe in Dwight?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where is Dwight?” Quentin sighed softly. “Since we have one less person, winning has become harder. Dwight lost yesterday.” He swallowed. “Told me as he died how to find you. He non-stop talks about you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake blushed and looked at Quentin. “He does?” He felt his heart racing again. What was wrong with him? “He asked you to.. come here?” Quentin nodded, looking at a crow at his feet that was hopping around him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">It’s the one that sleeps! </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake chuckled and cooed at it. The crow flew to him and landed on his arm. “This one was laughing about how you sleep everywhere. He what?” Jake bust out laughing, making Quentin blush. “What? What did it say?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“She said you fell asleep on a killer.” Jake said through the laughter. Quentin gave a shy smile and nodded. “Yeah. I was really tired that day.” He even found it funny. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sent the bird off and looked back at the teen. “So you can talk to them? The crows?” He nodded. “I can see their memories too, but it’s weird.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He wasn’t used to talking this much. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered Michael and looked behind him, but couldn’t see him. Probably stalking and watching them. Jake turned back to Quentin. “I’m not too sure its safe to be here either. Can you tell everyone I’m ok?” The teen nodded and smiled tiredly at Jake before waving goodbye to him and walking back into the void. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake sighed softly and walked to where he knew Michael was watching. He got an idea and stopped, then climbed into a tree and went out of sight of Michael’s gaze. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He felt Michael move around to try to spot him, but kept out of his sight by moving around the trees. Unlike the dead forest where he could fall, these trees were more alive. Plus he had a mental map of his realm. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake stayed still and watched as Michael walked below him, clearly looking for him but trying to not look like he was. He dropped onto Michael, using his talon to grip his shoulder. He had a lot of balance with his crow leg and tail. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Michael hardly reacted to the weight being dropped on him other than slightly bending his knees and exhaling softly. “Did I scare you?” He got a small nod and rolled his eyes. He doubted he spooked the man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t plan on how he would get down, though. Michael walked to a tree and he used it to hop down. “Thanks.” He looked away, slightly flustered. Jake glanced at Michael to see him staring down at him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Did I hurt you?” He wasn’t sure if his claw pierced him or not. Another head shake, so he relaxed and sat down, sighing with a smile. “That was kind of fun.” Michael sat across from him, summoning his knife and started to cut a random stick. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake watched him and set his mask to the side, resting his head on the tree and looked up at the black, starless sky. They stayed like this for a few hours, until he sensed someone enter his realm, but now knew who it was. It was Dwight. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He got up. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.” Jake stretched, slightly happy he would have both of his friends again. It was strange, though. The Entity had a hard on for him, and he was suddenly free of his grasp? Something wasn’t right. Jake would talk to Dwight about it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake made his way to Dwight, who headed for the broken down mansion at a fast pace. He sent a crow to Dwight and it landed on his head, cawing. The survivor yelped and shooed it off, so it flew down to the ground and hopped around him, stalling him enough for Jake to get there and not have to chase after him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey.” Jake called out. Dwight turned around and smiled softly at him. Jake didn’t know why his heart skipped a beat, but ignored it. “Hey. Are you alright?” The other asked. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah. Thank you.” He looked away and sighed. “Do you think its weird The Entity seemed to just leave me alone suddenly?” Dwight nodded and looked worried. “Yes, I do.” He walked with Jake back into the forest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I still can’t remember a lot. I think its blocking me from remembering something- and something important.” Jake ran a hand through his hair. He had no memories of the thing, at all, but apparently talked to the Entity at least once a year. That would be 11 times, while Dwight has only seen it about 3, and everyone else 1-2. Yeah. Something was wrong. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I think I figured something out.. and it didn’t like that. I can only remember that it was the thing that put me in here, and that I hate it.” Dwight nodded a bit and chewed on his lip nervously. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, every time I saw you and it together you would curse at it and attack it.” Jake nodded. “Sounds like me. What.. does it look like?” “Black claws or a dark mist.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He remembered the claw that grabbed him when he was in the dead forest. He never wanted to go back there. Jake had felt the fear of God put into him when he saw it, though it was small. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What am I forgetting, Dwight?” He stopped walking and looked at him. “I’m.. not sure. I remember this one time I found you talking to it. You- you said you made a deal with it to keep it from us, but had to keep it entertained.” Dwight swallowed thickly. “I felt awful. It was around the time me and you became friends again. I think it helped me snap out of its hold as well.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake paused. A deal with it? He remembered that from earlier and racked his brain for answers, but coming up with none. He had either done something to piss the thing off, it got bored, or it was planning something. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked at Dwight, staring at his face. He wondered to himself how many days he had stared at Dwight’s face. Most of that time was probably when it was just them two in the forest. In a sick sense it felt like old times right now. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake looked ahead and saw Michael with 5 crows on him. One on his head, two on his shoulders, one on his leg, and one on his boot. He chuckled and sat down in front of him. Dwight sat beside him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How did this happen?” He asked both Michael, and his crows. The killer didn’t move, but the one on his boot cawed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">Scratches!</span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had rarely seen the man scratch crows and was interested. He watched as Michael gently cupped the crow in his hands and turn it upside down to lay down in one palm, as he used a finger to gently rub the stomach. The crow didn’t fight it and really enjoyed it. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake smiled and continued to watch Michael pet the birds in ways he never thought of. Remmy, on his head, had been the first one. She hopped down and bounced on his leg to be pet. He set down the other crow gently and picked her up, but this time carefully pulling her wing and stroking her side. She didn’t seem to like this, so he moved to pet her tail. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remmy cooed from the feeling and walked in an odd circle as he pet it. After a while, she laid down in his hand and continued to coo from his pets. He felt Dwight staring at him, but before he could look he felt a nervous hand on his tail. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was just strange. Like someone placing their hand on your stomach. And then he dragged it down, and it sent shivers up his spine. The hand pulled away. “Ah- I’m s-sorry! I wasn’t thinking.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hated the fact he just enjoyed that. He wanted to chalk it up to a random crow thing, but he knew that was just an excuse. “I.. I don’t mind it. You can touch it.” He felt Michael staring now while petting the crows when it was their turn. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight’s hand returned, but it was slow and awkward. Like he was petting a cat for the first time and was unsure if he was hurting it or not. Jake closed his eyes but made sure not to make any weird noises, if he could. He did know he could squawk when spooked, which was already embarrassing. His cooing was what a human would do to try to talk to a crow, and he didn’t want to know if he really could. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But this felt relaxing, like someone petting your hair. He knew Dwight used to do that with him. “It’s really soft.” The other man spoke up. Jake opened his eyes to watch Dwight, and buried his face in his scarf. “Mm.” He didn’t know how to reply to that. Was he supposed to say ‘thanks’? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was really enjoying this moment. He had Michael and Dwight and was happy. There was a twisting feeling in his gut though. He couldn’t see the memories tied to it, but could feel it. Every time he was allowed happiness, something worse would happen. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was this why he was what he was now? The Entity let him be happy, but then forced him to become this? Should he shove these two away just so nothing bad would happen to them? Jake stood up suddenly. “I’ll be right back.” He walked off, having the urge to just be alone that it was overwhelming. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This- this feeling. It was recent, and from years ago. He walked for a while before stopping dead in his tracks. He had made a deal with the Entity. For him to never be happy as long as the others could. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was allowing himself to be happy. That meant The Entity was targeting someone else, or was going to punish him. Jake looked at his leg. This was punishment. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dwight had told him he made friends with everyone before this happened. Jake ran his hand through his head. The puzzle was almost complete, he could almost see it. What was missing?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake continued to walk and think. He was Entity’s only ‘mouse’ for a while, and made him bored. It was technically his fault Dwight and everyone were here, but he couldn’t go on anymore. Then, the Entity got bored of the game he created. Jake had to make it interesting for him again by stabbing himself on a hook. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That got the interest of Michael in the first place. Then he used Michael to keep Entity entertained by being friends with a killer, which he enjoyed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was still missing something. Jake stopped again and it all clicked. The Entity saw Jake as the center of everything. The first prey to watch get killed over and over. The first to be entertaining enough to cure his boredom. The first to be desperate enough to do anything to keep it happy, as to go as far as making a promise to not be happy so it would only focus on him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shit. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake had to get rid of his friendships with everyone and go back to being in that awful dark place he was days ago. He realized that Michael and Dwight making him happy made the Entity’s hold on him weaken to a point he couldn’t be controlled anymore. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But he just <em>knew </em>that if he didn’t stop this as soon as possible, something awful would happen. Worse than him becoming a killer, probably. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt something at his ankle and fear shot through him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Despite me wiping your memories you still find ways to keep me from boredom</strong>.” A purring voice came from his head. Jake tensed up and summoned his hook to attack the claw, but it did not vanish this time. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>I control you and your world. You can do nothing to me. How did you get all of those memories back?</strong>” He could feel the thing in his mind like a snake coiling around. He remembered everything he forgot all at once, too. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>It’s funny. I thought I could trick you into doing the same mistakes you did before.</strong>” Jake realized that Meg had appeared when Jake was finally starting to be happy with Dwight, then the games. It was all clicking into place. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You figured it out, even long ago. No matter how many times I erase your memories, Jake, you keep feeding me.</strong>” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t know how to reply, and grit his teeth. “So, what do you want?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Oh, you don’t remember all of the other times when this has happened.</strong>” It seemed to be thinking, as if it should show him. “<strong>I don’t think I will, yet</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake’s puzzle he put together was somehow broken. He didn’t understand. The other times? He had his memories erased before?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You have a choice.</strong>” The Entity purred. “<strong>Either forget everything you had with Dwight, Michael, your other friends, and restart this again from the beginning, or I will do this to them.</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake felt it leave him, somehow. He felt weak. The Entity was watching him from somewhere, soaking in his struggle and pain. It already knew what he would choose, though. There was no chance he would choose the second option. “I- I want to forget.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Of course you do. I didn’t tell you what it would cause, though.</strong>” He could feel the smirk in the tone of voice.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake glared at the empty forest around him. “What?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>This time, I may let you remember the thousands of other times you repeated this, or I may set you up with another person.</strong>” Set up?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What? Jake stared at the Entity, who formed in front of him with claws. Thousands of times? Had he lived in this hell so many times, each repeat being 12 years?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Yes.</strong>” It purred. “<strong>And every single time you do something new and thrilling, though the hook thing wasn’t new, you don’t pull it often.</strong>” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake saw memories of himself, but not him, doing it in front of different killers. Some he didn’t recognize, like a long-white masked one, or a clown. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He grabbed his head and hissed. “<strong>So I’m stuck entertaining you forever? What do I get out of it!?</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Each repeat has the same killers. Not the same humans.</strong>” Jake hated this. It was obviously a never ending cycle. What he would get out of it was saving someone, freeing them from this, but the Entity would just bring in someone new. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Exactly</strong>.” It purred again. “<strong>Your emotions are so delicious, too.</strong>” Jake looked up at the Entity. “Then I will do something new.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A claw flicked. “I want to save Michael.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then a booming laugh that hurt his mind and echoed in his head. “<strong>That isn’t new. You’ve tried that on every killer. These are hard to find, unlike you mice.</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sighed and crossed his arms. “<strong>Hah! That, too! Even when I make you forget, you’re always fighting me.</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Just fuck off and do the repeat again.” Jake snapped. The entire time, the Entity had slowly let past loops in. He remembered loops where he was friends with other killers, like the Wraith and Huntress. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You still have to choose what mouse you want me to let free</strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why do you even let me have this option?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>Because, all mice break. You have to have a goal: a reason to do this. Much like this repeat’s forest when you gave up.</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jake winced and sighed deeply. “How many times have I been a killer?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong><em>Once</em></strong>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He tensed up, just knowing he would have to go through being a killer over and over again. Forever. Judging by his memories and human time, he could have been in here for hundreds of years. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dwight.” Jake sighed, giving in. He could already feel those memories he just remembered fading. He didn’t want to forget again. He never did. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<strong>You’re always seeking happiness.</strong>” The Entity purred. “<strong>I’ll always dangle that hope in front of you.</strong>”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was the last thing he heard, before everything vanished into nothing, as a new repeat started with Jake in the first forest, lost and confused. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You exist to please me, and me only. -The Entity</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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